


Return to Love.

by cleotheo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 09:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3845989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleotheo/pseuds/cleotheo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After an accident, Hermione slips into a coma, where she experiences a very different life. Can she manage to fix things in her dream reality and return to her normal life, or is stuck in her dream world?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

After spending her Saturday morning doing housework, Hermione Malfoy headed upstairs to get ready for her afternoon shopping trip with her friend, Ginny Potter. The two witches had arranged to go shopping weeks ago and had arranged it so their husbands were available to look after the kids so they could have a hassle free afternoon. Hermione and her husband, Draco Malfoy, were the parents of a two, almost three year old boy named Scorpius and Hermione was four months pregnant with their second child. Ginny and her husband, Harry Potter, had two children, four year old James and nine month old Lily.

Hermione was looking forward to the afternoon with Ginny so she could get a bit of peace and quiet. Scorpius was just a month short of his third birthday and he was quite a handful when he wanted to be. Since having Scorpius, Hermione had only worked part time as a Potions Researcher at the Ministry of Magic, so she spent the majority of her time with the toddler and was looking forward to a bit of a break.

Another reason Hermione was looking forward to going out for the afternoon was that it would give her some space from Draco. The couple had always had a fiery relationship and arguments weren't uncommon in their life, but just at the minute things seemed extra tense between them. Hermione knew her pregnancy was affecting her hormones, making her extra sensitive and more prone to snapping at Draco, but the arguments still seemed a more frequent occurrence these last few months.

Draco's work was the main source of discontentment between the couple at the minute. Draco worked alongside his father at the family company, and while Hermione had always known her husband had a strong work ethic, in recent weeks it seemed he was putting work before her and Scorpius. Several times lately he'd been late home from work and had been working on weekends, not to mention all the extra business trips he was taking. Most of the time Hermione was convinced that he could delegate half of what he was doing himself, leaving him more time to spend with his family, but Draco was insistent that he needed to be the one doing the work.

As if Draco's work schedule wasn't enough of a problem, they were also arguing about his father, Lucius. Lucius had never hidden the fact he disliked the fact that his son had married a muggleborn. The war had changed the Malfoy family's views on blood status, and while Lucius no longer held as much prejudice against muggleborns, he still thought the Malfoy family should remain pure. However, Draco had refused to succumb to the pressure his father put on him and he'd married Hermione regardless of his father's disapproval.

Despite the marriage and the fact Draco and Hermione been together for years, Lucius still wasn't giving up on making sure his son ended up with a pureblood witch. Before Hermione and Draco had gotten together, Lucius had it lined up that his son would marry Astoria Greengrass, the pureblood daughter of a friend on his. Every opportunity he had Lucius dropped Astoria into the conversation and he always made sure the beautiful witch was present at parties and functions.

The previous week Hermione and Draco had attended a dinner for the charity Draco had set up after the war. Draco's parents were also present at the dinner and Lucius had managed to ensure Astoria got an invite. Despite the fact he was a married man, Astoria was more than happy to flirt outrageously with Draco. Draco never once responded to Astoria's flirtations, but in Hermione's opinion he didn't stop them either. When Hermione had confronted her husband about Astoria, Draco had made it clear that he wasn't interested in the younger witch and Astoria knew that, all she was doing was harmlessly flirting. Hermione still thought her actions were over the top and that Draco should put an end to them, but he refused to cause trouble because Hermione was jealous.

The whole incident with Astoria had turned into a full scale row once they couple had returned home and several days later the atmosphere between them was still tense. Hermione knew that they would settle their differences and work things out, but until then an afternoon away from Draco was just what she needed.

Just as Hermione was thinking how much she was looking forward to her afternoon with Ginny, the bedroom door opened and Draco entered the room carrying Scorpius. Hermione smiled at the sight of her husband and son, who was a miniature version of his father. No matter how much she and Draco argued, she was still madly in love with him and just seeing him brought a smile to her face.

"I'm sorry Hermione, there's been a change of plan," Draco announced, placing Scorpius on their king size bed before he headed over to the wardrobe.

"What sort of change?" Hermione demanded as her husband pulled out a work shirt and a pair of dark trousers from the wardrobe.

"I have to go into work," Draco replied as he began to get changed. "Father just flooed, asking if I could take a meeting he had organised."

"And why couldn't he take the meeting?" Hermione asked.

"Something came up," Draco shrugged. "I didn't delve into details."

"Why not? You're busy Draco, you can't go off to work," Hermione told her husband.

"This is important, Hermione." Draco sighed wearily, getting sick of having the same conversation with his wife. "And it's not as if you're doing anything special. You're only going shopping. It won't kill you to take Scorpius with you."

"This isn't fair, Draco," Hermione hissed at her husband. "Ginny and I have had this planned for weeks. You're supposed to be minding Scorpius, while Harry has James and Lily. Harry won't have let Ginny down like this."

"I'm sorry I'm not the perfect husband like Saint bloody Potter," Draco snarled. Most of the time he actually quite liked Hermione's friends, but he didn't like being compared to Harry in a less than favourable light.

"That's not what I meant," Hermione said with a sigh. "I'm just pointing out how you're not only letting me down, but you're also letting Ginny and Harry down. Because of you, we'll have to change plans now."

"For Merlin's sake Hermione, it's only a bloody shopping trip," Draco snapped. "You can rearrange it for another day."

"And you could rearrange your meeting for a day where you're not supposed to be looking after your son," Hermione shot back. "Or better yet, you could tell your father where to stuff it and not go running when he calls."

"Not this again," Draco muttered as he picked up a tie. Lucius had been an issue between him and Hermione since they'd gotten together, but in these last few weeks his wife and father seemed to have upped their animosity levels towards one another and he was stuck in the middle.

"The truth hurts, does it?" Hermione questioned. "Because these days Lucius calls and you go running. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he planned this entire thing to cause trouble. He knew I was busy today and that you were looking after Scorpius."

"From where I'm standing it's not Father who's causing trouble, it's you," Draco said to his wife. "I'll be a couple of hours, it's not the end of the world."

"Please yourself," Hermione snapped, walking over to the bed and picking Scorpius up in her arms. "Go to work, see if I care."

Without glancing in Draco's direction, Hermione stormed out of the bedroom and headed downstairs. In the front room, she settled Scorpius down on the plush carpet and got him a pile of his toys out for him to play with. While the two year old immediately began making a mess and playing with his toys, Hermione sat on the sofa watching her son.

Less than five minutes after Hermione had arrived in the front room, she heard Draco's footsteps on the stairs. When her husband poked his head around the door to the front room, Hermione studiously ignored him. Shaking his head, Draco turned away and minutes later Hermione heard the floo network sound from the floo room across the hall.

"Git," Hermione muttered to herself as her husband left the house.

After taking a couple of calming breaths, Hermione got up and grabbed some parchment from a nearby drawer. Scribbling a note to Ginny to cancel their afternoon, she then quickly ran across the hallway to the room where their owl lived. Attaching the note to its leg, she released the owl before heading back to Scorpius.

"It looks like it's just you and me, Scorp," Hermione sighed, picking her son up for a hug.

Scorpius remained in her arms for a few minutes, before he started to wriggle and call to be put down so he could play. Letting Scorpius get back to his toys, Hermione sat down on the sofa. Hermione had only been sitting there for a few minutes when she heard the floo network sound from across the hall. Hermione wasn't sure if it was Draco returning for something so she didn't bother to get up. Besides, the floo was set up so only family and close friends could enter the house without first having to gain permission so she wasn't bothered about a stranger wandering around the house.

"Hermione," Ginny's voice called from the floo room, revealing to Hermione that it hadn't been her husband returning.

"In here, Gin," Hermione called back to her friend.

Seconds later Ginny entered the front room with a friendly smile. After giving Scorpius a quick kiss and a hug, Ginny settled herself next to Hermione.

"I'm sorry about this afternoon," Hermione said.

"Don't worry about it," Ginny replied with a smile. "I've cancelled on you loads because Harry was called into work at short notice."

"That's different Gin," Hermione pointed out. "Harry's an Auror, if he's called into work he can't refuse to go. Draco's the boss, he could have arranged for someone else to take the blasted meeting."

"Hermione, it's not important. We can go shopping another time," Ginny soothingly told her friend. For some reason Hermione had been pretty highly strung during her second pregnancy and everyone had noticed it only took the smallest thing to set her off.

"I guess we can," Hermione conceded. "I'm just annoyed that Draco has once again put Lucius above us."

"You know he thinks the world of you and Scorpius," Ginny argued. Like all of Hermione's friends she'd been sceptical when she'd started dating Draco, but the blond wizard had long ago proved that Hermione meant the world to him and he would do anything for her. "And you think the world of him."

"Not right now, I don't," Hermione muttered. "Right now I could happily strangle him."

"But you love him anyway," Ginny chuckled.

"I do," Hermione admitted with a small smile.

"Aunt Gin," Scorpius cried, interrupting the conversation by patting Ginny on the leg and holding out a book to her. "Story time."

"Okay little man, hop on," Ginny said, lifting Scorpius onto her knee and seeing what book he'd brought with him.

"Do you want a coffee?" Hermione asked Ginny.

Ginny nodded and smiled at Hermione, before she turned her attention to her godson. Opening Scorpius's book about dragons, Ginny began to read to the two year old while Hermione went off and made coffee and juice for Scorpius.

Ginny stayed for nearly an hour reading to Scorpius and chatting to Hermione. When Scorpius began to fall asleep in Ginny's arms, Hermione gently picked up her son so she could tuck him up in his own bed.

"I'll be off," Ginny whispered as the two witches made their way out of the front room. "See you later, Hermione."

"Bye Gin." Hermione smiled at her friend as the two went their separate ways.

Hermione was halfway up the stairs with Scorpius when she heard the floo network sound as Ginny headed home. As they reached the top of the stairs, Hermione failed to spot the small quidditch figure that fell from Scorpius's pocket and landed on the top step. Heading into Scorpius's room, Hermione settled her son down on his bed and cast several charms that would alert her when he woke up and would prevent him from leaving his room. The last thing she wanted was for the toddler to wake up and leave his bedroom and accidentally fall down the stairs or something.

Quietly, Hermione left Scorpius bedroom and headed back towards the stairs so she could go and curl up in front of the fire with a book. The second Hermione's foot touched the top stair it connected painfully with the quidditch figure that was lying there and the unexpected toy caused her to cry out in pain lose and her balance. Before Hermione had a chance to react and try to save herself using magic, she was tumbling head over heels down the stairs. As she fell her thoughts flitted between the safety of her unborn baby and Scorpius sleeping upstairs and what would happen if he woke up and no-one went to see to him.

With a loud crash, Hermione reached the bottom of the stairs. The final impact knocked Hermione out cold and as she lay unmoving at the foot of the stairs, upstairs Scorpius woke up and started crying, having been disturbed by the noise of his mother tumbling down the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until she wakes up, Hermione's parts of the story take place in her dream reality.

Hermione slowly became aware of a low conversation taking place as she realised she was no longer lying at the bottom of the stairs. Even without opening her eyes she knew she was in a bed and when she did open her eyes she immediately knew she was in hospital. The plain boring white walls and the smell that all hospitals seemed to have, told her where she was.

"Healer Evans, she's awake," A voice from Hermione's side called.

Hermione frowned as she recognised the voice as belonging to Ginny. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for Ginny for coming to visit her, but she would rather have her husband by her side. However, before Hermione even had a chance to inquire about Draco an older wizard stepped into her line of view and began examining her.

"It's nice to have you back with us Ms Granger," Healer Evans remarked with a friendly smile.

"It's Mrs Malfoy," Hermione whispered, annoyed by the Healer not knowing her correct name. Even though she was widely recognised as being part of the golden trio that had defeated Voldemort, it had been years since she was a Granger and people rarely used her maiden name any more.

Healer Evans shared a worried look with Ginny, before refocusing on his patient. "Hermione, can you tell me what happened to you? Do you know why you're in hospital?"

"I fell down the stairs," Hermione answered. "I'd just settled Scorpius down for his afternoon nap, and I stood on something on the top stair. I lost my balance and I couldn't save myself."

"What's going on?" Ginny asked the Healer. "What's wrong with her?"

"Yes, what is wrong with me?" Hermione questioned. "Is my baby okay? I'm four months pregnant."

"Ms Granger, the incident you've just described happened five years ago," Healer Evans said gently. "You were shopping in Diagon Alley and were knocked over by a teenager running through the streets. You've only been here a few hours and you were only briefly unconscious."

Hermione frowned in confusion, trying to get things clear in her head. "That's not right. I was at home and I fell."

"You did fall Hermione, but that was years ago," Ginny said softly. "You were actually in a coma for a few days, but this time you've only been out of it for a few hours."

"This makes no sense," Hermione muttered. Even as she was speaking, she realised that she didn't feel that bad, it certainly didn't feel as though she'd just fallen down the stairs.

"It looks like you have some sort of amnesia," Healer Evans said. "It can be a side effect from a bump on the head."

"So, I've lost five years' worth of memories," Hermione said quietly. "Will they come back?"

"Hopefully," Healer Evans said with a small smile. "For now, I'd like to keep you in overnight just to check there's no more damage. For now I'll let you rest, Ms Granger. Mrs Potter, feel free to update Hermione on what she's missed."

"Why does he keep calling me Ms Granger?" Hermione asked Ginny once the Healer had left the room.

"That's your name," Ginny admitted with a soft sigh. "You reverted back to your maiden name after the divorce."

"Divorce," Hermione repeated in a quiet voice as her whole world began to crumble around her.

Ginny nodded sadly, as she began to fill Hermione in on the whole story. "When you fell down the stairs, you lost the baby. After that, you and Draco started to drift apart. You blamed him for losing the baby, and all the pair of you ever did was argue. Things got so bad that you separated so that Scorpius wouldn't be caught in the middle. The pair of you tried to work things out, but you couldn't move past the miscarriage and you divorced."

Hermione shook her head, unable to believe what Ginny was telling her. She refused to believe that things could have gotten so bad with Draco that they would have split up. Even when they were fighting, Hermione always knew they loved each other and could work things out. She never for one minute believed that either of them would have given up on their relationship.

"I know its hard Hermione, but it happened," Ginny said gently, seeing her friend was struggling to take in what was going on.

"No." Hermione shook her head stubbornly. "I refuse to believe it. I don't know what's happened to me, but I won't let Draco go without a fight. He's my husband, and we were meant to be together."

"It's too late Hermione," Ginny said sadly. "You're divorced. You've already lost Draco, he's moved on."

"You mean he's with someone else?" Hermione whispered as she felt the tears start to well in her eyes.

"He's dating Astoria Greengrass," Ginny said gently, knowing the identity of Draco's girlfriend would hurt Hermione more than the fact he was with someone else.

Feeling as though someone had torn her heart out, Hermione lowered her head as she began to cry. Whatever was going on, she didn't like it and all she wanted was to wake up and be back in her normal life.

"I'll leave you to get some rest," Ginny said as she stood up. "I'll let Draco know you're awake and he can bring Scorpius in to see you."

"Thank you," Hermione whispered. "And Ginny, will you not tell him about my memory. I don't want people knowing something is wrong."

"Don't worry, I'll not say a word," Ginny promised, before she left the room.

With Ginny gone, Hermione curled up on the bed and sobbed as she tried to take in everything that had happened. As far as she could remember, she and Draco were happily married expecting their second child, only now they were apparently divorced with just the one child. Hermione still refused to believe it was real, and she was hoping it was all a nasty dream and she would wake up to find her life was back to normal.

Unfortunately for Hermione she seemed stuck in this newfound life and half an hour after Ginny had left the room, the door opened and Hermione received more visitors. When the door swung open and a young boy entered, Hermione gasped as she saw her son. Her little boy was growing up fast and at eight years old Scorpius was looking more and more like his father. Speaking of his father, Draco followed Scorpius into the room and Hermione allowed herself to gape at the man who was now her ex-husband. Draco still looked as handsome as ever, but there was an air of coldness around him that she hadn't seen since school.

"I'm pleased you're okay," Draco said formally as he hovered in the doorway. "I'll be back in an hour and a half to pick Scorpius up."

"You don't have to leave," Hermione said, not wanting the blond wizard to leave so quickly.

"I have some things to do," Draco replied. "I'll be back later."

Before Hermione had a chance to say anything, Draco had turned on his heel and exited the room. However, Hermione's attention was soon distracted by her son who asked if she was okay. Turning her attention to Scorpius, Hermione reassured her son she was alright as she silently marvelled over how much her son had grown.

Not only had Hermione lost her marriage and the man she loved, she'd missed her son growing up and she hated it. She hated the world she'd woken up in and all she wanted to do was go back to when her life was good. She wanted her husband back, and she wanted the life she knew back. She just wanted things to return to normal.

*****

As the night started to creep in, Draco kept his vigil by Hermione's hospital bed. Draco hadn't left Hermione's side since she'd been rushed into St Mungo's earlier that afternoon. Part of the reason Draco refused to leave his wife's side was guilt, he blamed himself for her accident and he knew that if he hadn't changed their plans at the last minute that Hermione wouldn't have been hurt.

Almost as soon as Draco had left the house, he regretted leaving his wife to go to work. However, he was stubborn and he remained in the office for a couple of hours before ending his meeting early and rushing off home. When he did arrive home, he was devastated to find Hermione lying motionless at the bottom of the stairs while Scorpius's cries echoed around the house. Draco immediately flooed St Mungo's and got Healers to come to check on Hermione, while he contacted Ginny and Harry to help him deal with Scorpius.

While Draco concentrated on his wife, Ginny had stepped in and looked after her godson. Harry and Ginny had also accompanied Draco to the hospital as Hermione was admitted and checked out. The Potters had been a brilliant support for Draco, and they'd kept Scorpius entertained while Draco had concentrated on his wife.

"Draco, Scorpius is getting tired," Ginny said, poking her head around the door and disturbing Draco's thoughts. "He needs to go to bed."

"I can't leave Hermione," Draco said. "The Healers are still running tests."

"Do you want us to take him for the night, or would you rather we called your parents?" Ginny asked.

"I would rather you took him," Draco said. He knew his mother would love to look after Scorpius, but right now he felt his son would be better off with the Potters where he could play with James and forget about what was happening with his mother. "Thank you Ginny, I appreciate everything you and Harry are doing."

"You're welcome," Ginny said, smiling at the blond wizard. "And Draco, don't blame yourself for this. Hermione's fall isn't your fault."

"It is," Draco whispered, turning his attention back to his unconscious wife. "I shouldn't have left. I should have been with Scorp, and Hermione should have been out shopping with you."

"It was an accident, Draco," Ginny reiterated, squeezing the blond's shoulder. "This isn't your fault, you can't blame yourself. Hermione will be fine, I promise."

"I hope so," Draco whispered as Ginny turned and left the room.

Draco remained by Hermione's bedside for nearly half an hour before the Healer dealing with his wife entered the room. Healer Magnus had been treating Hermione since she was admitted, and when he entered the room he was accompanied by a female Healer whom he introduced as Healer Denver.

"Healer Denver is a specialist in the field of brain injuries," Healer Magnus told Draco.

"I thought you said there was no damage to Hermione's brain," Draco said, looking at his wife in a panic.

"There isn't," Healer Magnus replied, giving Draco a reassuring smile. "However, Healer Denver is also a specialist in rare sleep conditions. Since we can find no reason why your wife hasn't woke up, I was hoping she could offer her expertise. From the scans we've conducted, I would have expected Mrs Malfoy to have regained consciousness by now. I've asked Healer Denver to come and have a look and offer her opinion."

Draco nodded and gave the Healers permission to run whatever tests they needed to on Hermione. After an hour of running magical tests and scans on Hermione the two Healers had a brief hushed conversation before turning to Draco to fill him in on what was going on with his wife.

"All the scans and tests show that your wife is suffering from no major injuries," Healer Magnus began. "And as I said, there's no medical reason for her to still be unconscious."

"However, her brain activity reveals that your wife is indeed suffering from a rare magical sleep condition," Healer Denver supplied, continuing on the explanation with her expertise. "In your wife's head, she's awake. She's stuck in some sort of fictional reality her brain has created for itself."

"How does something like that happen?" Draco asked, not really sure what was going on with Hermione. "And how do we fix it?"

"It's not really known how it happens. Very little is known about the condition since it's so rare," Healer Denver admitted. "However, it usually occurs when someone has suffered a major accident. As for fixing it, there's no known cure."

"But people have woken from this before," Draco said, practically pleading for the Healers to give him hope.

"They have," Healer Denver said. "But there's nothing we can do, I'm afraid. Everything is now down to your wife, she's the only one who can end this."

"And how does she do that?" Draco asked.

"She has to want to wake up," Healer Denver answered. "She has to have something to live for."

"She's got something to live for," Draco insisted. "She's got me, and Scorpius. I know my wife and she's a fighter. She'll come back to us, I know she will."

Despite his firm instance that Hermione would be okay, Draco wasn't totally convinced. Clearly things were worse than he'd thought if his wife thought she had nothing to live for. They may have been arguing more than normal, but that didn't change the fact that they loved each other more than anything. Draco was now thinking that he should have told Hermione how much she meant to him a lot more often, maybe then she wouldn't have drifted off into this fake reality. All he could do now was be by her side and make sure she knew he loved her, hopefully she could still hear and it would sink in and he would get his wife back.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione was dismayed when she awoke to a second day in her new reality. The previous day had been bad enough as she struggled to cope with how her life had turned out. After spending ninety minutes with her now eight year old son, Hermione had spent the rest of her evening mulling over what her life was now like. Draco's aloofness when he dropped Scorpius off and picked him up, told her that relations weren't good with the man she loved.

After spending a whole night hoping things had been a bad dream, Hermione was forced to face the fact that this was her life now. However, she wasn't content to carry on as she was. She loved Draco and in her eyes he was still her husband, and she was determined to win him back. She wasn't sure why they had given up on their marriage, but she was determined to resurrect it. She may be stuck with no memories of the past five years, but she didn't like the way things had turned out and she was determined to change them.

By mid-morning the Healers were satisfied that Hermione was okay and they discharged her. When Hermione exited her room she found Harry and Ginny waiting for her. Smiling at them both she hugged her friends and thanked them for being there for her.

"Do you want me to tell Draco you're out of hospital?" Harry asked. "I can call into his office on my way back to work and ask him to drop Scorpius off after school."

"Actually, can you ask him to keep Scorpius for another night?" Hermione said. "I want to get settled back in at home first."

Harry nodded. "Of course. I'm sure that'll be fine."

"Thank Harry." Hermione smiled at her friend as he said goodbye and headed off to speak to Draco before he returned to work.

"How are you feeling?" Ginny asked once her husband was gone and she was alone with Hermione. "Are your memories coming back yet?"

"Not yet," Hermione replied. Although the more she was hearing about how her life had turned out, the more she was beginning to hope they never returned. "The healer said not to worry and they would come back in their own time."

"Let's get you home then," Ginny said with a smile. "I bet you're dying to leave this place."

"I am," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "But am I not keeping you from James and Lily?"

"James and Lily are at school," Ginny explained. "They attend the same muggle school as Scorpius."

"Why do James and Lily attend muggle school?" Hermione frowned. "Come to think of it, why does Scorpius? Last I remembered Draco wasn't keen on the idea of Scorp attending school in the muggle world."

"Why don't we get you home, and we can talk properly there," Ginny suggested.

Hermione was more than happy to agree as she was keen to be away from St Mungo's. Following Ginny to the fires, she was surprised to find she still lived in the house she'd once shared with Draco. Hermione's surprise was evident to Ginny and she explained that Hermione had remained in the house to give Scorpius some stability when his parents split up.

When they arrived back at the house they landed in the floo room and Hermione could instantly see she'd redecorated the place. The room she remembered was a pale shade of blue, whereas the room was now a warm shade of orange. The decorating changes continued throughout the house and as Ginny went to make some tea, Hermione took in her very different front room. Her gorgeous white corner sofa had been replaced with two black sofas and the room had changed from being decorated in muted shades of green to being decorated in a deep blue. However the main change was the lack of pictures of her and Draco. One of their wedding photos normally hung over the fireplace, but it had been replaced with a picture of Scorpius. All of the other pictures on display were also minus her ex-husband, it would appear she'd eradicated Draco from their once happy home.

"Here we go," Ginny announced, entering the room with two cups of coffee.

"Thanks Gin." Hermione took the cup off her friend and curled up on one of the two sofas. "So tell me about the kids schooling."

"As I said they all attend a local muggle school," Ginny said. "You were adamant that Scorpius should receive an education before Hogwarts, and Harry thought it was a brilliant idea. The pair of you found a suitable school together and you got Draco to agree to Scorpius trying school. You both agreed he could give it a go and if he didn't like it or it was too hard for him hiding his magic that you would withdraw him."

"Obviously that didn't happen," Hermione said.

"Scorpius loves school, he's a natural," Ginny smiled. "Neither you or Draco would dream of moving him, despite Lucius's disapproval of the situation."

"Now why doesn't that surprise me. It seems some things never change," Hermione snorted. "I bet he loved it when Draco and I split up."

"He was thrilled," Ginny admitted. "He never bothered to hide how pleased he was with how things ended up."

"Unfortunately for Lucius, I refuse to say this is the end," Hermione announced. "I've decided that I'm going to get Draco back."

"Is that a good idea, Hermione?" Ginny questioned warily. "I know you don't have your memories, but you and Draco almost tore each other apart before you separated. If it wasn't for Scorpius, you wouldn't even be in contact with each other. He's the only reason you speak."

"As you said, I don't have my memories," Hermione replied. "I don't remember that, I remember our marriage and that I love Draco more than anything. He's my whole world Ginny, and I'm getting him back."

"You might not have your memories, but Draco does," Ginny pointed out. "He can remember everything the pair of you went through. Things weren't good between you following your miscarriage. You were really harsh on him, Hermione. You said things I'm not sure he'll ever be able to forgive."

"I refuse to believe that," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "We've been through so much to even be together, I refuse to believe we can't fix it. If we can get past our school years, we can get past this."

"Just don't get your hopes up," Ginny warned with a sigh. "A lot has happened that you can't remember. Plus Draco's with someone else now."

"Astoria." Hermione grimaced at the thought of her rival. She had to admit it stung badly that Draco was now with the witch his father had always intended for him to be with, especially since he'd always insisted he wasn't the slightest bit interested in Astoria. "So, how serious are things between them?"

"I have no idea," Ginny answered with a shrug. "The only time we see Draco these days is if we happen to be around when he picking Scorpius up or dropping him off. We don't really speak."

"Even so you have to have some idea of the state of things," Hermione pressed. "Do they live together, for example?"

"Not as far as I know," Ginny replied. "But they always attend events together, and they seem fairly happy together."

"Draco and I were more than fairly happy, we were really happy," Hermione insisted. "Granted Astoria is a problem, but I'm not giving up. Scorpius doesn't deserve to be from a broken home and I'm going to fix his family for him. I'm getting Draco back, whatever it takes."

"Just be careful Hermione, I don't want to see you get hurt," Ginny said, before swiftly changing the subject away from her friend's ex-husband.

For another hour Ginny brought Hermione up to date with what she was missing in both her own life and in the lives of her friends. When Ginny left to go home, Hermione took the two cups back into the kitchen where she logged all the changes she'd made in that room. After washing the cups, Hermione decided to check to see if she'd re-decorated the entire house.

It didn't take Hermione long to find she had indeed re-decorated the entire house. She was also dismayed to find there was no hint of Draco anywhere in the house. She had hoped to find something in the room that used to be Draco's study, but the entire room was empty. The walls had been painted white, instead of the deep burgundy her husband had favoured, and the carpet was also a plain white non-descript affair. Hermione stayed in the empty room for several minutes, wondering why she'd never done anything with the room. Maybe it was too painful to reuse the room that had been Draco's territory.

Finally Hermione's search of the house led her to the main bedroom. Twice she'd passed the door to the master bedroom but she'd found herself unable to enter. Draco's absence from the rest of the house was painful, but she knew it would be heart-breaking to see the room they once shared. Finally plucking up the courage to enter the room, Hermione walked into the master bedroom and hardly recognised the place.

The room was surprisingly girly, far too much for her tastes if she was being honest. The furniture was all different from what she was used to and its position in the room had been totally changed around. Hermione looked at the double bed over the wrong side of the room, and sighed wistfully as she longed for her old king sized bed. The sheets of their old bed had been emerald silk, whereas her bed now had a white and purple patterned cover.

The adjoining bathroom had also been redone and it was painfully clear that no man shared the bathroom. Just like the bedroom, it was devoid of male presence and Hermione hated it. Turning her attention back to the bedroom, Hermione decided to search for some sign of her past life. So far it would appear she'd cut Draco out of everything, but she refused to believe that she wouldn't keep the memories of loving Draco.

After half an hour's searching, Hermione found a locked keepsake box hidden in the wardrobe. The box opened using her wand and when Hermione tipped the contents of the box out onto the bed, she found some of what she was looking for. The box was filled with mementoes and memories of her relationship with Draco.

Hermione found the ticket to the charity ball where they'd first reconnected after the war. She found various tickets and receipts from dates they'd had in the eighteen months they'd been dating. She also found a seashell from the beach where Draco had proposed and she found the garter she'd worn the day they got married. She also found pictures of the two of them, along with scan pictures of Scorpius and the baby they had lost.

By the time Hermione had searched through the box and had returned the contents back to their original place the tears were flowing. The box represented how happy they had once been and she still couldn't imagine anything tearing them apart. To be honest she still found it hard to believe that she would blame Draco for losing the baby, even though they'd fought before her accident, he wasn't to blame. It was a tragic accident, and it was made even worse because it had been the catalyst that had ruined their relationship.

After putting the box back in the wardrobe, Hermione dried her tears and resumed her search for more evidence that Draco had been in her life. As lovely as the box was, she knew there had to be so much more somewhere. The box had only contained a handful of pictures of the two of them and Hermione knew they had albums full of pictures, including their wedding album. Suddenly remembering that they'd stored a bunch of things up in the attic, including her wedding dress, Hermione headed out into the hallway and used her wand to open up the attic hatch and drop the ladders down.

In the attic, Hermione found what she was looking for. The entire space was packed with memories of her marriage to Draco. There were boxes upon boxes of shared belongings, photo albums and other significant belongings to the couple. Settling down on the floor, Hermione poured over the photo albums and looked at knick-knacks that brought back such happy memories.

After a couple of hours in the attic, Hermione was a crying mess. Not able to cope with any more heartache, she packed up and exited the attic. After having a quick shower, she grabbed a sandwich before heading to bed even though it was still late afternoon. Curling up on the unfamiliar bed, Hermione cried herself to sleep, wishing Draco was there to hold her and tell her everything would be alright.


	4. Chapter 4

After spending a restless night at his wife's side Draco was more determined than ever to get Hermione to wake up. Not only was he going to make sure that he and Scorpius were with her as much as possible, he was going to make sure everyone else his wife loved regularly visited her. Hermione had so much to live for and so many people that loved her and Draco was determined that she would return to them.

When Ginny and Harry arrived with Scorpius and their children on the Sunday morning, Draco told the couple of his plan to surround Hermione by the people she loved. The previous day Draco had only mentioned himself and Scorpius as people Hermione had to live for, but he knew there were so many other people who loved his wife. The Potters were a perfect example, both Harry and Ginny loved Hermione like a sister, their children thought of her as Aunt Hermione and she was godmother to both James and Lily.

Then there was Hermione's other best friend, Ron Weasley. Draco didn't get on half as well with Ron as he did with Harry, but the pair tolerated each other for Hermione's sake. However, despite their differences, Draco knew Ron loved Hermione and that his wife loved her redheaded best friend as much as she did Harry. And as well as Ron there was also Draco's best friend Blaise Zabini and his fiancée, Luna Lovegood. Over the years Hermione and Blaise had gotten pretty close and alongside the Potters, Blaise and Luna were the couple they spent the most time with socially.

Draco also planned on getting in touch with Hermione's parents. The Grangers had remained in Australia after the war and even though Draco knew his wife wasn't as close to her parents as she'd once been, he still knew she would want them at her side. At the end of the day they were still her parents, and they still loved her. Draco was also planning on telling his parents what had happened so Narcissa could visit. Unlike Lucius who had disliked Hermione from the beginning of their relationship, Narcissa had no problems with her son's wife and she was actually quite close to Hermione.

And of course there was the rest of the Weasley family to inform of the situation. The family of redheads were as good as family to Hermione, and he knew they all loved her like one of their own. From a personal point of view Draco wasn't keen on Percy, whom he considered to be pompous and aloof. He wasn't Molly's biggest fan either as he found the matriarch of the Weasley family to be overbearing, bossy and interfering. However, this wasn't about him it was about Hermione, and the Weasleys were his wife's family and deserved to be at her bedside. Besides there was a few Weasleys, like George, Bill and Charlie, that Draco really liked and had no problem spending time with.

Between spending time with his wife, Draco spent the majority of his Sunday informing people of what was going on. He spoke to Blaise and Luna, his parents and Hermione's parents' personally, while Harry informed the Weasleys of the situation. With Harry's help and pull at the Ministry, Draco even arranged for the Grangers to come over from Australia without having to travel the muggle way.

Finally everyone had been informed of the situation and all of Hermione's friends and family vowed to visit regularly and talk to Hermione. Draco wasn't even sure his wife would hear them or even know they were present, but he would try anything to get his wife back. Hopefully with so many people eager for her to wake up, she would rarely be alone until she was ready to re-join the real world.

By Sunday evening, everyone had visited Hermione and spent some time talking to her. Slowly people started to go home, and eventually it was just Draco and Scorpius left alone with Hermione. Scorpius was curled up asleep on the bed beside Hermione, while Draco was almost asleep sitting next to her bed. Draco was so close to the edge of sleep he failed to hear Harry enter the room. It wasn't until Harry gently placed his hand on his shoulder that he realised he wasn't alone.

"You should take Scorpius and go home," Harry said to the blond wizard. "You're no good to Hermione if you make yourself ill. You need to look after yourself. You also need to take care of Scorp, and right now he needs his own bed."

"I know," Draco said with a sigh, looking at his son curled up beside his mother. "I just don't want to leave Hermione."

"I'll stay with her," Harry offered. "You go and have a good night's sleep. I promise I'll get in touch if anything happens."

"Thanks Potter, I appreciate everything you've done today," Draco said as he hauled himself up from his chair and gently lifted Scorpius into his arms.

"Don't mention it." Harry smiled at Draco as he settled himself down beside his best friend's bed. "We all love Hermione, and we all want her to wake up."

Saying his goodbyes to Harry and thanking him for staying with Hermione, Draco took Scorpius and headed home for the first time since his wife's accident. After settling Scorpius in his room, Draco headed to bed himself but he just couldn't get to sleep. Hours after arriving home, Draco was still lying in bed thinking about how everything was his fault. None of this would have happened if he hadn't gone off to work. Draco was still mulling over what he could have done differently when the bedroom door slowly opened and a quietly sobbing Scorpius shuffled into the room.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" Draco immediately swung his legs over the side of the bed and held his arms out for Scorpius.

"I want Mummy," Scorpius sniffed.

"I know." Draco sighed as he gathered his son in his arms and pulled him into bed with him. "I want Mummy to wake up as well, but we have to be patient. Why don't you stay here with me tonight, and we can go and see Mummy tomorrow."

Still crying quietly, Scorpius snuggled into Draco and soon he'd drifted off to sleep. With Scorpius wrapped securely in his arms, Draco also drifted off to sleep, although his sleep wasn't as restful as his son's and several times during the night he woke up missing his wife.

The next morning Draco got him and Scorpius ready to go and see Hermione, before taking his son downstairs for some breakfast. Over breakfast he explained to his son that they would be going to see Hermione.

"Will she tell me a story?" Scorpius asked.

Draco wasn't at all surprised that Scorpius had wanted a story from his mother as his son loved to read, a trait he'd inherited from both parents. Scorpius rarely went to bed without a couple of stories and he would sit for hours if someone was reading to him.

"She's still sleeping, Scorp," Draco said gently. "Why don't we take some of your books and we can read to her."

After breakfast, Draco helped Scorpius pack a selection of his books in his backpack, before the two Malfoys headed off to St Mungo's. Harry had already left Hermione's room, but Molly was sitting with her when Draco and Scorpius entered the room. Saying hello to Molly, Draco walked straight over to his wife and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"I'll leave you three alone," Molly said as she stood up. "I'll be back later."

"Thank you for visiting," Draco told Molly as he sat down beside Hermione's bed and settled Scorpius on his knee.

For a while Scorpius sat quietly on his father's knee, but eventually he got bored and wanted to read. Picking up Scorpius's bag, Draco pulled out the books they had packed.

"What do you want to read?" Draco asked his son. As well as books with words, which people read to Scorpius, there were also a couple of picture books with no words that Scorpius liked to read himself as he could make the story up as he went along.

"That one," Scorpius said, pointing to his chosen book.

"I should have known." Draco chuckled as he put the other books away and held onto his son's favourite book, The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

After reading the book twice, Draco handed his son one of the books he could read himself and settled him on the bed next to Hermione. Snuggled up to Hermione, Scorpius opened the book and proceeded to tell his mother a garbled story about a penguin who wanted to fly. Watching his son weave the tale, Draco was amazed by his imagination. Given how inventive Scorpius was before he was even three, Draco dreaded to think what sort of tales their son would be able to tell when he was older.

Over the course of the morning, a couple of people stopped by to visit Hermione and to check if they could do anything for Draco. When Hermione's parents arrived to visit just before lunch time, Draco decided to take Scorpius up to the café for something to eat. Just as the pair exited the room, they ran into Ginny and Scorpius immediately invited his favourite Aunt to join them.

"Hermione's parents are with her," Draco explained to Ginny when she expressed her surprise that Draco had left his wife's side.

Ginny nodded, understanding that he wanted to give the couple some time alone with their daughter. Taking hold of Scorpius's hand she agreed to join the Malfoys for a spot of lunch before visiting Hermione. The trio were just about to leave the floor Hermione was on and head up to the café when the lift arrived and Lucius stepped out of it.

"There you are," Lucius declared, spotting Draco in the hallway. "Why weren't you at work this morning?"

"You can't be serious. You can't have honestly expected me to work today." Draco glared at his father in annoyance, before turning to Ginny. "Ginny, can you take Scorpius up to the café and get some food. I'll join you in a minute."

"Of course." Ginny nodded and quickly led Scorpius away from what could potentially be an explosive argument between his father and grandfather.

"Come in here," Draco told his father, opening the door to the relative's room that was currently empty. "I don't want to do this in public."

Lucius followed Draco into the room and had barely shut the door behind him before he began to talk.

"You missed three meetings, Draco," Lucius said angrily. "We lost out on a big contract because you failed to show up."

"As I said, how could you possibly expect me to work today?" Draco questioned. "In case you didn't notice my wife is in hospital and my son needs me. This all happened because of work anyway, and I won't let it happen again."

"Work had nothing to do with your wife's accident," Lucius insisted. "She fell, it happens."

"She wouldn't have fallen if I hadn't gone to work," Draco argued. "This whole thing has been a wakeup call for me. As from now, I'm severely cutting back on my work hours. From now on, my family takes priority. Hermione and Scorpius need me, and I'm going to be there for them."

"You can't cut back, Draco," Lucius protested. "We need you."

"No, my wife and son need me," Draco told his father. "Until Hermione is awake and up and about, I won't be at work at all. But even after she's back home, I want to seriously rethink my workload. I might cut down to two or three days a week."

"That's ridiculous," Lucius exploded. "She might never wake up, you can't put your life on hold."

"Hermione will wake up," Draco snarled furiously, unimpressed with the suggestion he might have lost his wife for good. "She will come back to us, and we'll be a family again."

Not giving his father a chance to say more, Draco turned and stalked out of the relative's room. Heading up to the café, he went off to have lunch with his son. He'd meant every word he'd said to Lucius. He did intend to cut back on work, and he did believe that Hermione would wake up and return to them. He was convinced that whatever was going on in his wife's head would be resolved, and when she was ready she would wake up and they would be together again.


	5. Chapter 5

After a fitful night's sleep in an unfamiliar bed in a room that was so vastly different than the one she remembered, Hermione was forced to face up to reality. Whether she liked it or not, this was her life now. She wasn't going to just wake up back in the life she remembered, she was stuck in a life that had moved on and changed in ways she hated to think about. Even though she was slowly accepting she'd lost her last five years' worth of memories, she wasn't accepting this was how her life was going to end up. She was going to get her husband back, and at least try and fix the mess she'd made of her life in the previous five years.

Feeling a lot more positive than the previous day, Hermione got out of bed and headed for a refreshing shower. Once she'd showered, she took the time to pick an outfit that highlighted her good figure. She then spent nearly an hour doing her hair and make-up, before she added a few pieces of jewellery. Looking down at her bare left hand, Hermione felt the loss of her engagement and wedding ring. She hadn't come across either of them in her keepsake box or up in the attic, but she knew that even if she did find the rings she couldn't just go around putting them back on. Whether she liked it or not, she and Draco weren't together and she would have to fight hard to regain the right to be his partner again.

Satisfied with her appearance, Hermione headed downstairs to grab some breakfast. As she was sipping her coffee and nibbling on her toast she suddenly realised she had no idea what time Draco would be dropping Scorpius off, or even how he would do so. Would the pair of them floo directly into the house, or would Draco apparate them to outside the house and they would then enter through the front door.

Forty minutes later Hermione got her answer when the doorbell rang. Feeling incredibly nervous about seeing Draco, Hermione took a few deep breaths before she opened the door. The second the door was open, Scorpius bounded inside and wrapped his arms around his mother's waist. Hermione suspected that her son wasn't normally as tactile in his greetings, but the fact she'd been in hospital had worried him.

"I'm so pleased you're home," He announced as he hugged her fiercely.

"I'm pleased to be home," Hermione replied, dropping a kiss to the top of her son's platinum blond head. "I've missed you, Scorp."

"I've missed you too." Scorpius smiled up at his mother as he finally let her go.

"Why don't you go and put your bag in your room," Hermione suggested to her son.

Scorpius nodded and picked up the bag he'd left at Draco's feet. "See you later, Dad," He called as he took off up the stairs.

"Thank you so much for looking after him," Hermione said, smiling at Draco, who was hovering in the doorway.

"He's my son Hermione, of course I'm going to look after him," Draco responded without returning his former wife's smile.

"I know you'll always look after him," Hermione said. "I just appreciated you having him last night as well. It was a weight off me mind, knowing he was safe with you."

"Well, I'm pleased to see you're feeling better," Draco said, acknowledging that Hermione looked more like her normal self than she had a few days earlier in hospital. "I'll see you next time I pick Scorpius up."

"Do you have to go right away?" Hermione asked. "I've just made a fresh pot of coffee, would you like some?"

Draco shot Hermione a curious look, before shaking his head once. "I've got things to do. Goodbye Hermione."

With a sinking heart, Hermione watched as Draco turned away from the door and walked a few steps down the path before pulling out his wand and disappearing with a crack. Hermione stood staring at the point where Draco had disappeared for a couple of minutes, before she slowly shut the front door. Things were clearly bad between her and Draco if he wouldn't even stay for coffee. It looked as though it wasn't going to be easy to fix the damage of the last five years.

"Mum, are you okay?"

Hermione jumped slightly when she heard her son's voice behind her. Turning round she found Scorpius standing on the stairs, watching her with a curious expression on his face.

Hermione smiled reassuringly at her son. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've been staring at the door since Dad left," Scorpius said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I was just lost in thought," Hermione told her son. "But I promise, I'm perfectly okay."

Scorpius nodded as he made his way down the rest of the stairs, but Hermione had a suspicion her son didn't quite believe her. Draco had always been able to tell when there was something bothering her and it looked as though Scorpius had inherited his father's intuition when it came to reading her moods. Hermione just hoped she could cover her tracks around her son and keep him from finding out she had amnesia. Things must be hard enough for him as it was without discovering his mother had no memory of the last five years.

"So what do you want to do today?" Hermione asked brightly, hoping to make Scorpius forget about her odd behaviour. She knew from looking at the calendar in St Mungo's the previous day that it was a Saturday, meaning Scorpius didn't have to go to school.

"I thought we could have a lazy day," Scorpius replied. "We could watch films and eat piles of popcorn."

"I don't know, only good boys get popcorn. Have you been good?" Hermione asked.

"I'm always good." Scorpius smirked.

Hermione was hit by how much Scorpius looked and sounded like Draco and she had to turn away before she burst into tears. As much as she loved her son, he was getting more like Draco as he grew up and she felt her husband's loss a lot more with Scorpius around. Shaking off the negative thoughts, Hermione turned back to Scorpius with a smile plastered on her face.

"You pick some films, and I'll go and see if we need to go to the shops before we begin," She told her son, before hurrying out of the front room.

Luckily the kitchen was stocked with everything they would need for a lazy day at home. Hermione found a couple of pizza's in the freezer and there was a big bag of popcorn in the cupboard. Satisfied they would be alright when they wanted to eat, Hermione made herself a fresh cup of coffee and grabbed a juice out of the fridge for Scorpius. Heading back into the front room she settled down for a day of relaxation with her rapidly growing son.

*****

Over the course of the weekend, Hermione had plenty of time to explore the house and she was thrilled with the information she found in her small study. Hermione had always been organised and she was pleased to find that hadn't changed, even if she had managed to screw up her personal life.

In the study she found a calendar marking exactly when Scorpius was with Draco and for how long each visit was due to last. The calendar covered the next couple of months, which meant she didn't have to worry about not knowing when Scorpius was due to be with his father. She also found details about Scorpius school, which showed he had one more week to go before the summer holidays.

Hermione was also pleased to find information about her work, and which shifts she was working. It appeared that Hermione still worked part time as a potions research for the Ministry of Magic, and it seemed as though her shifts were designed to work around Scorpius. More often than not when Scorpius was with Draco, Hermione was working.

Using the information in the study, Hermione was able to settle into her life without anyone noticing there was anything different about her. Luckily she had extensive notes at work, meaning she could quickly grasp what she was working on. She did occasionally run into someone at work that hadn't been there long enough for her to remember them, but by playing along as if she knew them and listening closely to other people, she easily picked up their names and what they did.

The only problem Hermione had was with Draco. No matter how hard she tried, her husband just wouldn't entertain talking about anything other than their son. Hermione was cheerful and happy whenever he picked Scorpius up and dropped him off and she was always inviting him in for a drink, but he never accepted the offer. A couple of times, Hermione thought she'd seen a glimmer of curiosity in his eyes, but almost as soon as the flash appeared it was gone again and he was back to being the cold, distanced man she was coming to expect.

After a few weeks of getting nowhere, Hermione decided to talk to Ginny about the situation. So far Ginny was the only person who knew she couldn't remember the last five years, and she was the only person who knew of Hermione's plan to put her life right and win Draco back.

On an afternoon when Scorpius was with Draco and she knew Harry was off work, Hermione invited Ginny over for a talk. Organising wine and snacks, Hermione set things up outside in the sun and when Ginny arrived the two witches settled down in the gorgeous back garden of Hermione's house.

"How are things?" Ginny asked her friend. "Are your memories returning?"

"No." Hermione shook her head. "The last time I saw the Healer, he was getting less confident they would return. He warned me this could be permanent."

"I'm sorry Hermione," Ginny said sympathetically. "It must be awful knowing you've missed out on so much."

"It is in some respects," Hermione admitted. "Every time I look at Scorpius, I think of everything I've missed. The last I remember of him, he was a toddler just about to have his third birthday. Now he's an eight year old, who is so mature for his age. I feel like I've missed a whole lifetime. But on the other hand, I've missed thing I'm grateful not to remember."

"Draco," Ginny guessed.

"Draco," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "I'm pleased I don't have all those bad memories. I don't want to think about my marriage ending, or everything we must have gone through to get to that point. However, because I can't remember it I'm finding it hard to connect with Draco. I can barely get him to say two words to me that don't revolve around Scorpius. He rebuffs every invite for coffee."

"Can I be blunt with you, Hermione?" Ginny asked her friend.

"Of course," Hermione responded.

"I'm not at all surprised he hasn't accepted your invite for coffee," Ginny admitted. "The pair of you aren't at all friendly. You don't argue or bitch behind each other's back for Scorpius's sake, but you're not friends in the slightest. For the last couple of years the only interaction you've had has been about Scorpius."

"But surely it'll be good for Scorpius if we can become friendlier," Hermione argued with a frown. Not only had the fact they'd gotten a divorce completely thrown her, but she was amazed that things were so bad that they hadn't even managed to remain friendly for their son's sake.

"I don't even know if that's an option," Ginny said with a sigh. "I promised to be blunt, and here it is. You broke Draco's heart, Hermione. After the miscarriage you blamed him, and he was in a bad enough state blaming himself as it was. You asked him to move out, and you initiated the divorce proceedings. I've never seen Draco so broken as he was back then. You shattered him Hermione, and it's taken him a long time to pick himself back up. To be honest I can't blame him for keeping his distance."

"Why would I do that?" Hermione questioned with a sob. "Why would I treat him like that? I love him."

"I know you do darling," Ginny said gently as she took hold of Hermione's hand. "And he loves you. I don't think either of you have ever stopped loving each other, but things have just gone too far. You were grief stricken when you lost the baby and I think by the time you started to recover, things were already irretrievable between you and Draco."

"Did I tell you that?" Hermione asked quietly.

"You don't have to tell me, I'm your best friend," Ginny answered. "I know you regret the divorce, but you're too stubborn to admit it. I also think that Draco regrets not fighting for you more, but he was devastated by the way you treated him and I think he's convinced himself you don't love him anymore."

"But I do love him. I love him more than anything," Hermione whispered.

"Then maybe you should tell him that," Ginny advised. "It might very well be too late, but you can at least try."

Hermione nodded, her mind already thinking of ways she could get Draco alone to talk to him. From the interaction they'd already shared it was clear just asking to talk wouldn't do the trick. She would have to first find some other way to grab his attention and get him in a position where he'd be willing to listen to her and allow her to confess how she felt about him.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione's theories about how hard it would be to get Draco alone were proved right in the following couple of weeks. Even though she fully expected it to fail, she started off by asking Draco if she could have a private word with him. However, before he agreed to speak to her he asked if it was about Scorpius and when she said no, he made an excuse about being busy. A couple of times, Hermione had tried talking to Draco after they'd been discussing Scorpius, but as soon as the conversation drifted away from their son, Draco made his excuses and left.

Apart from downright tricking Draco into talking to her, Hermione was out of ideas after a couple of weeks. Deciding that a few Slytherin like tactics were called for, Hermione decided to manipulate things a bit. Checking the next time Draco was due to pick Scorpius up, Hermione arranged for her son to visit the Potters that very same morning. When Harry arrived to pick Scorpius up and checked what time he needed to be back, Hermione deliberately told her friend to return her son a couple of hours after Draco was due to arrive to pick him up. Hopefully with Scorpius out of the way, she could finally manage to get Draco to stay and talk to her while they waited for him to arrive back from the Potters.

After Scorpius had left with Harry, Hermione tidied up a bit and made sure her son's bag was packed and waiting for him when he returned. Even though she was hoping to talk to Draco, she knew he would still need time to come to terms with her confession and she doubted he would cancel spending a few days with his son.

With the house looking neat and tidy, Hermione headed off upstairs to get ready. Since waking up in hospital, Hermione had been making sure she always looked her best whenever she dealt with Draco, but today she wanted to look extra special. To be honest a part of her wanted to show Draco what he was missing, and what he could have if they reunited.

After dressing in a figure hugging blue and white print dress, doing her hair and make-up, Hermione headed back downstairs to relax until Draco arrived. Still not sure what exactly she was going to say to her former husband, Hermione picked up the latest copy of Witch Weekly to flick through as she ran through a few ideas in her head. Hermione wasn't a huge fan of the glossy gossip magazine, but she'd been buying it since her accident as a way to bring herself up to date with what was happening in the world. She also read the Daily Prophet every day, but Witch Weekly covered different events and made it easier to understand some of the gossiping at work.

Hermione was halfway through the magazine when she found an article that piqued her interest. Several pages of the magazine were dedicated to the annual dinner for Draco's children's charity. The dinners were a yearly event and it was at one of those dinners a long time ago that Hermione had reconnected with Draco as he tried to persuade her to become an ambassador for his charity. Hermione had become an ambassador for his charity, which was what had led to romance developing between them. However, considering she didn't even know about the dinner she was guessing she was no longer involved in the charity since the divorce.

Hermione read a bit about the dinner and about how well the charity was doing, before flipping over to look at the pictures of the event. Almost immediately her eyes fell to a picture of Draco with Astoria. Just seeing the younger witch made Hermione's jealously bubble up and it didn't help that Draco and Astoria looked pretty stunning together, as the magazine pointed out on several occasions. The only consolation Hermione got from seeing the pictures was how formal they were. If she didn't know from Ginny the pair were a couple, she never would have been able to guess. They looked like two friends posing for the cameras, not two lovers.

Looking just like friends was not something Hermione and Draco had ever dealt with during their years together. Even at public events like the charity dinner the couple used to be constantly touching and holding onto one another. Hermione knew for a fact that all of the pictures of her and Draco that had been published over the years were a lot more intimate and passion filled than the ones of Draco and Astoria.

Hermione's smugness was short lived as she turned over to the last page of pictures and found another one with Draco and Astoria on. In this last picture, Draco had his hand on the small of Astoria's back and he leant down to whisper something in her ear, causing his girlfriend to smile slightly. Again, the picture wasn't half as intimate as the ones Hermione knew existed of her and Draco, but it certainly showed the pair were more than friends. The picture also brutally reminded Hermione that Astoria was sleeping with her husband.

Hermione had never really been the jealous type, at least not to the extent that she worried about Draco's previous lovers. She'd known when they'd gotten together that he'd had other witches, just like she'd been with other wizards. However once they were together, she'd always imagined it would be forever. No-one else would get to experience the pleasure that Draco Malfoy was capable of delivering in the bedroom. However, Astoria was now the one reaping the rewards of Draco's lovemaking skills and it burnt bitterly inside Hermione.

Not able to stand looking at the picture any longer, Hermione closed the magazine and threw it onto the coffee table with enough force to send it skidding across the glass surface and tumbling off the other side of the table. Not bothering to get up and pick the magazine up, Hermione brooded on her former husband's sex life. Mainly she wondered how Astoria compared to her in the bedroom.

Draco had always claimed that Hermione was the best lover he'd ever had, but she suspected a lot of that had to do with their explosive chemistry. Draco was also the best lover she'd ever had and while he was undoubtedly talented in bed, things were even better because they had such a strong physical connection. Right from their first time they'd each known instinctively what the other would like, and over the years they'd done a lot of experimenting together. As long as they were both willing and were together, they would try almost anything.

Thinking back over the years of explosive sex, and their amazing chemistry, Hermione suddenly got an idea. Even though Draco was sleeping with Astoria, their chemistry wasn't so potent that it was visible in pictures, whereas the chemistry Hermione and Draco had shared together most definitely was. Hermione doubted their attraction to one another had disappeared completely, so maybe it was time to reignite their passion. She knew that she was still attracted to Draco and still loved him like crazy, all she had to work out was whether Draco still felt the same way. And to do that she'd come up with a very simple plan. She was going to seduce her ex-husband, and then she was going to confess she loved him.

Hermione had no sooner decided on her plan to seduce Draco then the doorbell rang signalling the arrival of her husband. Double checking she looked okay, Hermione picked up the copy of Witch Weekly and dumped it in the bin as she made her way to the door. Swinging open the door she greeted Draco with a huge smile and ushered him into the hallway.

"Is Scorpius ready?" Draco asked, making no attempt to move any further into the house than the front hall.

"Actually he's not back yet," Hermione said. "He went to the Potters this morning. He should be back any minute though, I'm guessing they just lost track of time."

"Did you have to let him go out when you knew I was coming to pick him up?" Draco asked in an annoyed voice.

"Sorry, I thought he would be back in plenty of time," Hermione replied with a shrug. "As I said, I'm sure they've just lost track of time and Scorpius will be home any minute. Until then why don't you come in and sit down."

For a second Hermione thought Draco was going to refuse, but he nodded his head once and strode into the front room. Hermione followed him and watched as he sat down on one of the sofas.

"Do you want a drink?" Hermione offered. "I can make tea or coffee, or I think I have a bottle of firewhisky somewhere."

"I don't want a drink, I'm not staying," Draco replied frostily.

"Just let me know if you change your mind, the offers there," Hermione said as she walked over to where Draco was sitting and sat down next to him.

Draco gave Hermione a strange look when she sat next to him instead of on the other sofa, but he didn't say anything. Instead he turned his attention to his watch and tutted at the time.

"I would try flooing, but Ginny said they were going out for the morning," Hermione said apologetically.

"This just gets better and better," Draco grumbled. "This isn't on Hermione, it's just not fair. We agreed on a schedule, and it's not fair to Scorpius or me to change it like this."

"It's not as if I'm cancelling, Draco. Scorpius is just running a bit late," Hermione said gently, placing her hand on his arm.

Draco looked down at her hand with shock but Hermione was pleased that he didn't make any move to remove it.

"I'm still not happy you let him go out before I arrived," Draco replied.

"Sorry, it won't happen again," Hermione promised, smiling at her former husband.

Despite himself Draco briefly smiled back, before he schooled his features back into the annoyed look he'd been wearing since entering the front room. Hoping to take Draco's mind of his annoyance, Hermione asked what he was planning on doing with Scorpius over the next few days.

"Does it matter what we're going to do?" Draco asked suspiciously. "You don't normally check what I've got planned."

"I'm just interested in what my son and husband are going to be doing," Hermione replied.

"Ex-husband," Draco corrected and Hermione could hear the bitterness lacing his tone.

"I don't like the word ex," Hermione whispered. "To me, you'll always be my husband."

Before Draco had a chance to respond, Hermione surged forward and pressed her lips against his. She was hoping one kiss would lead to much more, as it usually did when they kissed. Hermione thought her plan had failed and Draco wasn't going to respond when suddenly he was kissing her back with urgency and his hand moved up to tangle in her curls. However, victory was short lived for Hermione as Draco abruptly pulled away and jumped up off the sofa.

"What the hell are you playing at Hermione?" He demanded, running his right hand through his hair as he tried to refocus his thoughts.

"I thought that was obvious. I was kissing you."

"I know that, but why? You know I'm with Astoria," Draco stated. "You also know my policy about cheating. I wasn't just faithful because I was with you, I'm faithful to whoever I'm involved with."

"You weren't too faithful a minute ago when your tongue was in my mouth," Hermione shot back. The last thing she wanted to do was argue with Draco, but sometimes it was just impossible not to bicker when he was being so infuriating.

"It was a momentary lapse. You took me by surprise," Draco defended. "Although I'm still not clear on why you kissed me. You hate me."

"I don't hate you Draco, I love you," Hermione stated forcefully as she stood up and walked over to where her husband was standing in front of the fire. "Everything is such a mess, but I know I love you. You and I were meant to be together."

"I can't believe you can stand there and say that," Draco snorted. "Have you forgotten everything that's happened these last five years? Well I haven't, I can remember every little thing, and it bloody well hurts. You ripped out my heart Hermione, and I don't think I'll ever recover."

"I'm sorry Draco," Hermione whispered, her heart breaking as she heard the pain in the words of the man she loved. Whatever had happened these last five years, she'd really hurt Draco in the process.

"I know," Draco said quietly. "But sorry doesn't take away the pain. Sorry doesn't make up for the last five years."

"No, I don't suppose it can," Hermione said in a broken voice. "I'm sorry about today. Scorpius is at the Potters, but he's not due back for another couple of hours. His bag is beside the door, you should take it and go and pick him up."

Turning away from Draco before he could have a go at her for manipulating him, Hermione slowly walked out of the front room and up the stairs. She was vaguely aware of Draco watching her from beside the front door but she never looked back as she made her way to the master bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. The second she heard the door slam behind Draco she let the tears fall as she faced up to the fact that she might not be able to fix things after all. Things might to be too broken to get them back to how they were, no matter how much she longed for it.


	7. Chapter 7

Draco slowly walked through the corridors of St Mungo's, heading towards the room where his wife was still lying unconscious. It had been a week since Hermione's accident and there was still no sign of her waking up. The healers conducted several examinations a day, and Healer Magnus was pleased that Hermione's vitals were stable and that she wasn't suffering any major internal injuries. However, Healer Denver also examined Hermione daily and he confirmed her brain scans showed she was still in her disassociate state.

When he reached Hermione's room, Draco took a steadying breath before pushing open the door. Draco entered the room to find his wife's two healers finishing up their daily checks, but surprisingly his mother was sitting beside the window. Narcissa had actually visited Hermione several times, but she'd never mentioned visiting that morning.

"Is there any change?" Draco asked the healers.

"Not really," Healer Denver replied. "Your wife is still unconscious and showing no signs of waking up."

"What about physically?" Draco checked with Healer Magnus. To be honest he hadn't expected there to be any change in her unconscious state, but he needed to be sure she was physically okay and there were no problems.

"The slight injuries she sustained from the fall are healing nicely," Healer Magnus said with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Mr Malfoy, your wife's physical condition is good. We're monitoring her very closely and if there's any change we'll let you know immediately."

"Thank you." Draco smiled weakly at the two healers as they passed by him and exited the room. He then turned to his mother, who had moved and was now sitting beside his wife's bed now the healers had finished their checks. "I didn't expect to see you today," He said as he pulled up a chair next to his mother. "You were only here yesterday."

"I wanted to check how you were, you seemed down yesterday," Narcissa replied. Studying her son she could see he was suffering from lack of sleep, but she knew it would be pointless telling him to go home and rest.

"I'm fine," Draco told his mother. "It's just hard seeing Hermione like this. She's normally so vibrant and full of energy. Plus Scorpius is finding it hard to understand why she won't wake up. He wants his mother back, we both do. Without Hermione, we're both lost."

"She'll wake up, I know she will," Narcissa said hopefully. "And speaking of Scorpius, where is he?"

"He's at The Burrow," Draco replied. "Since its Sunday the whole family will be there and I thought it might be nice for him to spend some time with the other kids. Ginny promised to keep an eye on him and if it got too much for him she's going to bring him home."

Since Hermione's accident, Scorpius had been a lot quieter than usual and Draco was hoping a few hours with the Weasleys would brighten his spirits. After the first couple of nights when Scorpius had come into his room crying for Hermione, Draco had just settled his son in his bed on a night to make things easier for the toddler. Draco himself also drew comfort with having Scorpius as close as he was a constant reminder of his wife. While Scorpius may resemble him in looks, he was much more like Hermione personality wise with his lovable nature and warm, friendly disposition.

"Did you not consider joining him?" Narcissa asked. She knew that despite past differences the Weasleys considered Draco a part of their family as he was married to Hermione.

"I want to be with Hermione," Draco answered, gently taking one of Hermione's hands in his and running his thumb over the back of her hand. "I don't want her to be alone."

"She wouldn't be alone, I'm here," Narcissa pointed out. "And her parents were here when I arrived. They only left to grab something to eat, I'm sure they'll be back soon. And speaking of food, you need to eat Draco. You need to look after yourself, for Hermione and Scorpius's sake."

"I'm not hungry," Draco muttered.

"I don't care, you're going to eat even if I have to force you," Narcissa told her son. "When Richard and Jean return we're going to go and get some food."

The last thing Draco wanted to do was go and eat, but instead of arguing with his mother he concentrated his attention on Hermione. Even though the healers didn't know if his wife could hear or even if she would know anyone was with her, Draco preferred to talk to Hermione as though she could hear him. He was just hoping that something would sink in and she would realise how much she was loved and how much she was needed.

Draco spent the next hour talking to Hermione about Scorpius. With his mother present he wasn't totally comfortable talking to Hermione about how much he loved and missed her, but talking about Scorpius was a safe subject. Draco filled his wife in on various things their son had done over the past week as well as reminisce about past events.

By the time Hermione's parents returned to the room, Draco had conceded he needed to eat so he didn't object when Narcissa suggested they pop out for a bit. Before he left Draco briefly spoke to the Grangers and promised them he wouldn't be far if they needed him. Richard and Jean reassured Draco they would get someone to send for him if they needed him, but that he should go with Narcissa and take the time to grab some food.

Draco accompanied Narcissa to the hospital café where the pair got some food and settled down at a table. For the duration of the meal neither of them talked about Hermione and the reason they were spending their Sunday at St Mungo's. Instead Narcissa gossiped about what was going on in her life and Draco pretended to be interested in his mother's friends since he'd known them all since childhood and was actually friends with a lot of their children.

"I really should be getting back to Hermione," Draco announced after nearly forty minutes away from his wife. He'd been itching to get back to Hermione for over half an hour, but he knew his mother never would have let him leave so quickly.

"Before you do, why don't we take a walk outside?" Narcissa suggested. "There's a nice park just opposite the hospital. The fresh air will be good for you."

"Fine," Draco conceded with a sigh, knowing his mother would just nag him until he agreed to go for a walk with her. Luckily he'd set up an alert with the hospital staff so the instant anything happened with Hermione they would inform him via a message through his wand.

Once they were outside, Draco was pleased he'd agreed to the walk. The fresh air did make him feel better and it took away some of the gloomy mood the hospital brought on. Outside in the warm summer sun it was easier not to worry about Hermione as much. Obviously he was still worried about what was going to happen with Hermione, but it wasn't quite as bad as when he was stuck in the hospital and his mind was running over all the worst case scenarios.

"Thank you for convincing me to come outside for a while," Draco said to his mother as the pair settled on a bench under a large tree. "It's nice to escape and clear my head."

"I just wanted to get you alone so I could talk to you properly," Narcissa admitted. "I want to know how you're coping. And don't tell me you're okay, because I don't believe it. I want the truth Draco."

"The truth is, I'm terrified," Draco admitted in a whisper. "I'm terrified that Hermione won't wake up. I'm scared that this is all my fault. I'm the reason she doesn't want to wake up."

"That's not true, Draco." Narcissa put her arm around her son and was surprised by how easily he leant into her for support. "Hermione loves you. She'll want to wake up to be with you."

"If that's the case why hasn't she done that?" Draco asked. "She's still asleep because she doesn't want to wake up and have to deal with me. We've been arguing a lot more recently, and I think I've pushed her too far. What if I lose her either way? What if she wakes up and decides to leave me? I can't cope with that, Mum. I need her."

Draco finished his sentence with a half sob and Narcissa clung onto her son tightly. The very fact he'd just called her 'mum' was an indicator of how scared and upset he was. Narcissa had only ever heard Draco use the word when he needed comfort, otherwise he tended to use the more formal 'mother'.

"It'll be okay, sweetheart," Narcissa soothed. "Just because you've been fighting doesn't mean you love each other any less. I know how much the pair of you love each other, and I'm confident you'll get through this. Hermione will wake up and things will get back to normal."

"I hope so," Draco whispered.

"I know so," Narcissa stated as she continued to hug her son.

Draco remained in Narcissa's arms for nearly ten minutes, before he sat up and brushed away the stray tears that had fallen.

"I need to be getting back," He said quietly.

"If you don't mind, I'll be going home," Narcissa said. "I'll pop back tomorrow morning to see you and Scorpius and to check on Hermione."

"Okay." Draco nodded and gave Narcissa a peck on the cheek before he turned and headed back across the road to the hospital.

Narcissa watched her son go before she turned around and walked around the tree they'd been sitting under. As she expected, she found her husband standing hidden behind the large tree trunk. Narcissa had spotted Lucius almost as soon as they'd sat down and she'd been waiting for him to make an appearance, however when he remained hidden it was clear he wasn't going to alert Draco to his presence.

"Are you happy now?" Narcissa demanded.

"Why would I be happy?" Lucius asked with a frown. "My son is a mess. I've never seen him so upset."

"I thought you wanted Hermione out of his life," Narcissa said. "Isn't this what you've been waiting for? A chance to get Draco away from the witch he loves."

"I never wanted anything to happen to her," Lucius admitted quietly. "If she wasn't a muggleborn, she would be perfect for Draco."

"She's perfect for him regardless of her heritage," Narcissa argued. "You can't deny that Draco loves Hermione more than anything, not after witnessing our conversation. If he loses her, it'll destroy him. Maybe you should think about that before you carry on pushing him the way you have been doing. Draco will never leave Hermione willingly, and if he loses her in any other way he'll never recover."

"I can't do anything about that," Lucius said. "I can't force her to wake up."

"No, you can't," Narcissa agreed, before going on to offer her husband some words of advice. "But you can go inside and speak to your son. Let Draco know you're sorry and that you're there for him. Support him Lucius, and accept that Hermione is the love of his life. Maybe then you can save your relationship before it's too late."

Leaving her husband to ponder on her words, Narcissa pulled out her wand and disappeared with a soft crack. Lucius stood in the park for several minutes, before summoning his courage and heading over to St Mungo's. Heading up to the floor Hermione was on, he got directions to his daughter-in-law's room and set off to speak to his son.

Lucius got as far as the partially open door before he stopped. Through the small crack in the door he could see Hermione lying unmoving on the bed and Draco sitting beside her, holding onto her hand and talking quietly. Draco was telling Hermione how much he loved her and needed her to wake up, but what affected Lucius more than hearing the words was seeing the tears falling down his son's face. Without his wife, Draco was a mess and for the first time Lucius admitted to himself that he'd been wrong to try and separate them. He should have been pleased that Draco found someone who made him so happy, but now it might be too late and his son might lose the witch he so desperately loved.

Not wanting to alert Draco to the fact he'd seen him so emotional, Lucius quietly backed away from the door and retreated down the corridor. He would come back and speak to Draco another time, when his son wasn't so upset and when he knew what he was going to say to try and make amends. He just hoped that when he next visited, he would have the courage to actually talk to his son before it was too late and the damage that he'd caused had become irreversible.


	8. Chapter 8

By the end of the summer, Hermione was regretting the way she'd approached things with Draco. Since the incident where she'd kissed him, her former husband had been even more standoffish than ever. Most of the time he wouldn't even enter the house when he picked Scorpius up or when he dropped him off. He would also barely speak to Hermione and she was worried she'd ruined any chance she had of fixing things. If Draco wouldn't even speak to her, what chance did she have of reigniting their romance?

With the way things were between her and Draco, Hermione knew she would have to be very careful with how she handled things from now on. One wrong move and she could ruin any potential reunion with Draco. If she acted so rashly a second time, Draco just might pull away even further and she would stand no chance of proving to him that she wanted to make amends and fix things.

Still not sure how to proceed with Draco, Hermione was choosing to spend her time with Scorpius. It was a major adjustment for Hermione suddenly having an eight year old son. She was used to a toddler that needed watching all the time, not a growing boy who didn't need or want his mother fussing over him twenty four hours a day.

Hermione still found it strange not to keep such a close eye on her son, but she did manage to do it sneakily at times. Currently Scorpius was playing outside and Hermione kept sneaking looks at her son out of the kitchen window. Grabbing herself a fresh cup of coffee, Hermione took one final look at Scorpius kicking a ball around before she headed into the front room. While Scorpius was out enjoying the last days of his holidays, Hermione planned to curl up with a new book she'd bought the previous week.

Hermione was soon caught up in her new book and before she knew it an hour had flown over. Placing a bookmark in her book, Hermione placed it on the coffee table and stood up so she could go and check on Scorpius. Hermione had barely reached the door to the front room when she heard a loud cry from the back garden, followed by a dull thud.

"Scorpius," Hermione cried, taking off in a sprint towards the back door.

When Hermione yanked open the back door her heart dropped when she spotted her son lying motionless in the middle of the garden. Beside him was a broom, indicating he'd been flying. Even without memories of the last five years, Hermione knew she wouldn't let her eight year old son fly unsupervised and it was understood by Scorpius that he didn't get his broom out unless there was someone around to watch him and fly with him.

Hermione's annoyance that Scorpius had gone behind her back and gotten his broom out wasn't important compared to her worry over her son's health. Rushing over to Scorpius's side all Hermione was worried about was whether or not her little boy was okay. Scorpius's eyes were shut and he wasn't moving, but a feel of his pulse revealed a heartbeat. Hermione wanted to scoop her son up and rush him off to hospital, but she knew moving him before he was completely checked out could be dangerous. Pulling out her wand, Hermione produced a patronus and quickly sent a message to Draco.

"It'll be okay Scorpius," Hermione whispered to her son as she gently brushed her hand through his hair. "Your Dad's on his way."

Hermione sat with Scorpius for what seemed like an eternity, before her son let out a small groan. When Scorpius opened his eyes and tried to move, Hermione stopped him.

"Just stay where you are, Scorp," Hermione told her son. "Does anything hurt?"

"My head," Scorpius whispered as his eyes began to drift closed again. "And my ankle."

"Good boy, you just stay awake until your Dad gets here," Hermione said, trying not to show her son how shaky she was.

"Sorry Mum." Scorpius cracked one of his eyes open and looked at his worried mother. "I know I'm not meant to fly alone."

"Don't worry about that now." Hermione smiled at her son, just as she heard Draco's voice frantically calling her name. "We're in the garden," She called to her husband.

Seconds later, Draco came flying out of the back door followed by a couple of healers from the hospital. The trio rushed straight over to where Hermione and Scorpius were, and Hermione explained what had happened.

"Did he lose consciousness?" One of the healers asked as they began to examine Scorpius.

"Yes, he was out cold when I reached him," Hermione answered. "He was like that for three or four minutes, but then he woke up. He said his head hurts and his ankle. Will he be okay?"

One of the healer's smiled at Hermione. "I'm sure he'll be fine. We'll briefly check him over before taking him into St Mungo's."

"I'm sorry Draco." Hermione turned to her ex-husband as the healers checked Scorpius over. Since arriving at Scorpius's side he'd said nothing and Hermione wasn't sure if he was angry at her. "He knows not to fly unsupervised, but last time I checked on him he was playing football."

"Hermione, it's not your fault," Draco said gently. "Scorpius is far too much like me at times. I used to do the same thing, sneaking my broom outside when my mother wasn't watching."

"I should have been watching," Hermione insisted, tears forming in her eyes. "I should have been more careful. This is all my fault."

"It's no-one's fault, it was an accident," Draco said, putting his arm around Hermione's shoulders and giving her a brief hug. "We'll go to St Mungo's, and Scorp will be fine."

Hermione nodded as she watched the healer's gently lift Scorpius up off the floor. One of the healer's cradled him in his arms while the second healer informed Draco and Hermione that it looked like Scorpius had a broken ankle and some mild bruising.

"What about his head? Is that all right?" Hermione asked as the group began making their way back indoors so they could floo to St Mungo's.

"He looks to be fine, but he'll probably be kept in overnight as a precaution," The healer who wasn't carrying Scorpius answered. "Don't worry, he'll be fine in a few days."

"See, I told you." Draco smiled at Hermione and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before activating the floo network so the group could travel to St Mungo's.

Once at St Mungo's, Scorpius was settled in a room on the children's ward and a pretty female paediatrician healer came to attend to him. An examination confirmed that Scorpius had broken his right ankle and was suffering from slight bruising and mild concussion. During the examination the healer gave Scorpius a pain potion to alleviate the throbbing in his broken ankle.

"We're going to keep Scorpius in overnight," Healer Jackson said to Draco and Hermione once Scorpius was settled and she'd finished her initial examination. "It's standard precaution in a case where the patient had been unconscious, but it's nothing to worry about. As for his ankle, we'll wait for the pain potion to kick in properly before seeing if it will heal by magic."

"Why would it not be able to be fixed with magic?" Hermione asked. "I thought broken bones were easy to fix."

"They are," Healer Jackson replied. "But joints can be tricky. They need to fix just right or else problems can occur. Chances are the break will heal just fine, but there is a small chance that magic will only be able to mend so much and the rest will have to do the old fashioned way, with patience."

"Don't worry, even if magic can only partly fix the ankle it's better than nothing," Draco reassured a nervous looking Hermione. "When I was five I broke my wrist and that could only be partially fixed by magic. I had to wear a cast for a few weeks, and it finished healing by itself in no time."

Slightly reassured, Hermione took a seat by Scorpius's bed as the healer got on with fixing her son. After conducting a few preliminary tests on Scorpius's ankle, Healer Jackson left the family alone until the pain potion had kicked in enough for her to start fixing the broken joint.

"How are you feeling?" Draco asked Scorpius as he settled down on the opposite side of the bed to Hermione.

"It hurts," Scorpius replied shakily as he tried his hardest to keep himself from crying.

"It'll get better as the potion kicks in," Draco reassured his son.

Five minutes later the potion had kicked in enough for Healer Jackson to try and mend the ankle using magic. Hermione and Draco both stayed at Scorpius's bedside as the Healer worked her magic in his ankle. Since she was trying to fix a joint the procedure was a tricky one and as such it took nearly an hour before Healer Jackson was satisfied she'd done all she could.

"Is it completely healed?" Draco asked.

"No." Healer Jackson shook her head regretfully. "It will need to time to completely mend. What I'll do today is magically bind the leg so Scorpius can't move it. Tomorrow I can then have a further look and we can see how much more healing is required."

"Will he be in hospital for longer than tonight?" Hermione asked.

"Hopefully not," Healer Jackson replied with a smile. "I'm confident we can put a cast on Scorpius tomorrow and providing he rests, he'll be able to go home."

"That's good, isn't it?" Hermione smiled at her son as Healer Jackson cast the spell to stop Scorpius from moving his leg before she exited the room.

"I want to go home now," Scorpius replied in a quiet voice. "I don't like hospitals."

"What's wrong with hospitals?" Hermione gently asked her son.

"You were in here twice," Scorpius whispered. "And both times you were different when you came out."

"What do you mean different?" Hermione queried.

"The first time you were sad and angry. You and Dad were always fighting and then Dad left," Scorpius replied. "The second time, you were sad again and you're still not right. You keep forgetting stuff and every time you see Dad, you're sad again."

"I'm sorry Scorp." Hermione had to fight back the tears as she heard how her two hospital trips had affected her son. "But I promise, you won't be sad when you get out of hospital. They're going to fix your ankle and you're going to come home as good as new."

"Promise?" Scorpius questioned.

"I promise," Hermione vowed, kissing her son on his forehead. "Now since you're staying in, I better go and get you some things."

Promising to be back soon, Hermione quickly left the room before tears started to fall. Swiping away the tears, Hermione had almost made it to the lifts when she heard Draco calling her name. Turning round she found him following her from Scorpius's room.

"What did Scorpius mean you're always forgetting things?" Draco asked. "Is there something going on I should know about?"

"No, I'm fine." Hermione lied, not really sure why she was reluctant to tell Draco the truth. "I've just been having a few problems with my short term memory following my accident. It's nothing serious."

"Just as long as you know you can tell me anything. I know things haven't been great between us these last few years, but I would like to think that if there was something wrong you could confide in me," Draco said seriously.

"There's nothing to tell," Hermione said with a small smile. "I better be going so I can get back quickly. Will you be staying until I get back?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Draco vowed. "Although while you're gone I might have to have a word with our son about flying unsupervised."

"What happened to he's just like you," Hermione chuckled.

"That's why we're going to have a talk," Draco replied with a smile. "As fun as it is breaking the rules and having fun, you have to think of the consequences. He has to realise that by flying unsupervised he's worrying the pair of us."

"Don't be too hard on him," Hermione said. "I think he's rather shaken up by the whole thing."

"Don't worry, it'll just be a friendly chat," Draco reassured Hermione.

Leaving Draco to speak with Scorpius, Hermione headed home to grab some overnight things for her son. Despite Scorpius being injured, Hermione felt a burst of hope growing inside of her at the conversation she'd just had with Draco. It would seem that despite his frosty demeanour there was still a part of him that cared for her. And if she could reach that part of him, she may just have found a glimmer of hope for the future.


	9. Chapter 9

A tired Hermione headed wearily to her son's room in St Mungo's, two days after he'd been admitted. Scorpius's ankle was taking longer to fix than had been anticipated, and Hermione was beginning to worry that there was something the healer's weren't telling her. Healer Jackson had tried using magic to fix Scorpius's ankle three times, and every time she came back to check up on the progress it was as though she'd never cast any healing spells on the bone. At the minute Scorpius had his leg in a healing cast, and it was hoped that when it was removed the following day, he would be well enough to go home. The cast was designed to focus the healing magic in Scorpius's ankle and as a result it should start to mend. Obviously the rest of the ankle was going to have to fix in its own time, but the healer's wanted to kick start the process using magic. Hermione just hoped the cast worked and when it was removed her son would be on the road to recovery.

When Hermione reached Scorpius's room she was just about to push open the door and enter when she heard a feminine voice from inside the room. Not recognising the voice, Hermione stood and listened for a few seconds. It took her all of two seconds to realise the voice belonged to Draco's girlfriend, Astoria Greengrass. Since Scorpius had been admitted into St Mungo's, Draco had been around practically the whole time but there's been no sign on Astoria, much to Hermione's relief.

Not wanting to see Draco and Astoria together, Hermione turned and headed towards the refreshment kiosk at the far end of the children's ward. Hopefully by the time she'd gotten a cup of coffee the younger witch would have headed home and she wouldn't have to deal with her. In an effort to avoid Astoria, Hermione took an extra-long time using the bathroom and grabbing a drink before she had to go and see her son. Regardless of whether Draco's girlfriend was there or not, Hermione wanted to see Scorpius and check he was okay.

Hermione was halfway back to her son's room when she heard Draco's voice in the family room. Stopping Hermione paused outside the door and heard her ex-husband tell Astoria not to be so ridiculous. Despite knowing she shouldn't be listening, Hermione was unable to stop herself from eavesdropping as the couple argued.

"I'm not being ridiculous," Astoria shot back at Draco. "All I want is for my boyfriend to give me some of his precious time, instead of spending it with his ex-wife."

"I'm spending time with my son," Draco replied. "In case you haven't noticed, he's in hospital."

"He doesn't need you here twenty four hours a day," Astoria complained. "He's got a broken ankle, not a life threatening illness."

"I don't care what's wrong with him, he's my son and I'm going to be with him and support him."

"It's not Scorpius that's got you here all the time, it's her," Astoria hissed. "It's her you want to spend time with, admit it."

"Hermione has nothing to do with this," Draco replied unconvincingly.

"She has everything to do with this," Astoria snapped as she laughed bitterly. "You're still in love with her, and you'll use any excuse to spend time with her. Don't think I haven't noticed how different things have been lately."

Hermione wondered how things had been different, and luckily for her Draco asked the very same question inside the family room.

"Just look at Scorpius's accident. A few months ago you would have gone ballistic if he'd been injured in her care," Astoria said. "Hell, if he'd fallen off his broom when I'd been looking after him, you would have killed me."

"That's not likely to happen, is it," Draco snorted. "You don't look after Scorpius."

"Yeah, because he doesn't like me," Astoria retorted. "That'll be your ex-wife poisoning his mind against me."

"Hermione wouldn't do that," Draco said in defence of his former wife.

"Of course she would," Astoria shot back. "She didn't want you, but she didn't want anyone else to have you either."

"It wasn't like that," Draco muttered so quietly that Hermione struggled to hear him.

"Of course it was," Astoria scoffed. "She blamed you for everything and cast you aside, and then when you moved on she resented you for it."

"Shut up Astoria, you know nothing," Draco hissed menacingly. "You know nothing about my marriage, so keep your poisonous opinions to yourself."

"I know you're wasting your time pining for that bitch. She doesn't love you Draco, she never did. You're a fool to still love her."

"Don't you dare call Hermione names," Draco shouted angrily. "And I might be a fool for still loving Hermione, but I would rather love her than anyone else. No-one can compare to Hermione, and I've just been fooling myself that I can move on. The truth is, I don't want to move on. I want Hermione, I always have and I always will."

"Where does that leave me?" Astoria questioned in a low voice as Hermione broke into a huge grin at Draco's confession.

"Out of my life," Draco answered. "I'm sorry Astoria, but we're over. I don't know if things are fixable with Hermione, but even if they're not, I don't want to be with you."

Sensing the conversation in the family room was going to be over shortly, Hermione quietly slipped away from the closed door and made her way to her son's room. When she entered the room she found Scorpius was fast asleep. Gently placing a kiss on her son's forehead, Hermione settled down beside his bed and thought about what she'd just heard. Even though over the last few days she'd seen evidence that somewhere deep inside him that Draco still cared for her, she hadn't expected to hear him confess he was still in love with her. She'd been worried that she'd broken his heart so badly that he might never be able to love her the same way again.

Ten minutes later Hermione was still sitting next to a sleeping Scorpius's bedside when Draco entered the room. Hermione smiled warmly at the blond wizard as he dropped wearily into the chair beside her. Over the last couple of days the pair had been communicating much better and there was very little awkwardness when they were together.

"I thought you'd gone home with Astoria," She said, wondering if Draco would mention the argument he'd just had with his girlfriend.

"How did you know Astoria was here?" Draco asked.

"She was in here when I arrived earlier. When I heard her voice, I went to grab a coffee in the hopes that she'd be gone when I returned," Hermione admitted. "When you were both gone, I assumed you went home with her."

"I didn't leave with Astoria," Draco replied, stating the obvious. "I dumped her instead."

"I don't know what to say. I would say sorry, but I'm not."

"I don't think I'm sorry either," Draco snorted. "To be honest I should have ended things a long time ago, or better yet I shouldn't have gotten involved with her in the first place."

"Why did you?" Hermione asked. She was curious as to how the pair got together as Draco had always been so adamant he wasn't attracted to Astoria in the slightest.

"I thought it might help if I tried to move on with my life," Draco answered quietly. "I thought it would help me get over you."

"Did it?" Hermione asked expectantly, wondering if this was the perfect opening to try and get things back on track with Draco.

Draco looked at Hermione for a long time before he slowly shook his head. "I don't think that's possible."

"Do you want it to be possible?" Hermione probed.

"I don't know," Draco admitted with a sigh. "Part of me thinks things would be so much easier if I could just get over you and move on with my life, like you seem to have done."

"Hold on, I have not moved on with my life," Hermione interrupted. "I don't want to move on with my life. You are my life, you and Scorpius. Without you, my life is incomplete and pretty rubbish to be honest."

"And whose fault is that," Draco responded bitterly. "You pushed for the separation and divorce, Hermione. I never wanted any of this."

"Yet you still let me go," Hermione replied flippantly, before grimacing as she saw the wounded look briefly flicker over Draco's features. "Sorry, I didn't mean that," She hastily added, not wanting to offend Draco and end the conversation they were having.

"You're right," Draco confessed, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "I shouldn't have given up on you, I should have fought to keep hold of you. You were grieving and weren't thinking clearly, I should have had a thicker skin and not let what you were saying get to me. Maybe if we'd still been together when things started to calm down, we could have worked things out."

"That's what Ginny said the other week. But she also said I made things too hard for you to stick around," Hermione said, thinking back to one of the many conversations she'd had with Ginny over the course of the summer. "She was nice about it, but she blamed me for the divorce."

"And what do you think?" Draco asked as he scrutinized Hermione closely. "Do you think you were too harsh on me after the miscarriage?"

"I don't know," Hermione admitted, deciding it was time to come clean about her memories. "I don't just have problems with my short term memory, I can't remember anything about the last five years. When I had my accident and woke up, I thought it was five years ago. The last thing I can remember from before my accident was us having that stupid argument about you going to work. I was devastated when Ginny told me about the miscarriage and divorce, I didn't want to believe it."

"And suddenly these last few months make sense," Draco remarked with a rueful smile. "I thought we could be potentially making progress towards a reconciliation, but you're just suffering from amnesia. When your memories come back, you'll go back to hating me."

"Firstly, I could never hate you. Even if my memories come back, it won't change the fact I love you and I was the biggest idiot going to let you go," Hermione said forcefully. "And secondly, when did you think we were making progress towards a reconciliation? You've been so standoffish towards me, especially after I kissed you."

"That was when I thought we might have hope," Draco admitted. "It took every ounce of my self-control to end the kiss and stop things before they went any further. I wanted you so much, I still do. I was just worried in case you changed your mind. I can't cope with having my heart broken again, Hermione. Our breakup nearly destroyed me, and I can't let it happen again."

"It won't," Hermione vowed. "I can't remember the past five years, so I can't talk about what happened, but I can assure you the same thing won't happen again. These last couple of months have been the worst of my life. I need you Draco, and I'll do anything to try and fix this. Please tell me we can fix this."

"We can try," Draco replied hesitantly. "I can't promise miracles Hermione. You might not have your memories of the last five years, but I do. I can remember all the hurt and the pain, and I don't want to go through it again. I want to try and fix things more than anything, I'm just not sure they're fixable."

"There's only one way to find out," Hermione said with a small smile.

Slowly closing the gap between them, Hermione gently connected her lips to Draco's. Draco gently returned the kiss, his hand coming up to cup Hermione's cheek as he did so. As the pair were kissing neither of them noticed Scorpius cracking his eyes open and grinning at his parents. Still smiling at what he'd witnessed, Scorpius shut his eyes again as he drifted back off to sleep feeling happier than he'd done in a long time.

"I love you, Draco," Hermione whispered as the pair finally separated.

"I love you too," Draco replied equally as quietly. "I always have, and I always will. No matter what happens between us from here, remember that."

"I will, and the feeling is entirely mutual," Hermione said.

"Now I think it's time you got some sleep," Draco said as his ex-wife let out a large yawn. "You've barely slept since Scorpius was brought in."

"Will you be here when I wake up?" Hermione asked, unsure of going off to sleep so soon after the discussion they'd just had.

Draco nodded and reassured Hermione he wasn't going anywhere. Finally feeling positive about the future, Hermione curled up and drifted off to sleep with her husband back at her side where he belonged.


	10. Chapter 10

The sound of Draco talking quietly began to filter through to Hermione as she slowly began to wake up. At the sound of Draco's voice, Hermione smiled to herself as she remembered what had just occurred between them. While things weren't guaranteed to return to the way they were, they were at least making progress in the right direction. With a lot of time and effort, she was convinced they could get their marriage back on track and get back to being a happy family with Scorpius.

Instead of opening her eyes right away, Hermione was content to lie listening to her husband's voice. It was only when she realised she was lying down that Hermione remembered she'd fallen asleep in a chair, she shouldn't be lying in a cosy bed. Wondering what was happening, Hermione tried to open her eyes but she found she couldn't quite manage it. Trying not to panic, she stopped trying to open her eyes and concentrated on listening to Draco's voice. Maybe if she could distinguish what he was saying, she would find out what was happening.

It took Hermione a few minutes to really focus in on Draco's voice, but when she could hear what he was saying it made no sense. Draco was clearly reading a story, but the bizarre thing was that he was reading The Tiger Who Came to Tea. Hermione knew the story off by heart both from her own childhood and Scorpius's younger years, so she easily recognised the story her husband was reading. However, she didn't understand why Draco was reading their eight year old son a book that he used to read when he was a toddler.

Hermione's confusion about what was going on was only heightened when Draco came to the end of the story and spoke to Scorpius although he was still a little boy. Although when Scorpius replied, Hermione realised her son was in fact a little boy. She could clearly tell the difference between how her son spoke as an eight year old and how he spoke when he was a toddler.

"Can I read to Mummy?" Hermione heard Scorpius ask Draco.

"Of course you can," Draco replied.

When Hermione felt a movement on the bed and seconds later she felt a warm body snuggling up beside her, she once again tried to open her eyes. As she was struggling to open her eyes she heard Scorpius begin to read to her and she recognised the story as being from one of his picture books. Scorpius often used to make up dozens of different stories to go with his picture books, but some stories were his favourites and he would repeat them dozens of times, which was what he was doing with the story he was now reading to her.

Getting frustrated with her inability to open her eyes and find out what was happening, Hermione let out a low moan. Immediately Scorpius stopped reading and she felt his little hand on her cheek.

"Mummy," He cried excitedly. "Daddy, Mummy's making noises."

"I know Scorp, I heard," Draco said, sounding equally as excited as his son as Hermione felt her husband take hold of her hand and lean over her. "Hermione, can you hear me?"

Hermione tried to answer, but all that emerged was another low moan.

"Don't struggle sweetheart, you can wake up when you're ready," Draco gently told her as he stroked her hair. "Scorpius and I are right here with you."

Following Draco's advice, Hermione stopped trying to open her eyes. Instead she just lay quietly, enjoying the sensation of Draco's fingers running through her hair while Scorpius's little hand stroked her cheek. After about ten minutes, Hermione tried to open her eyes again and this time they managed to flutter open.

In a matter of seconds Hermione took in what she could see. A little toddler Scorpius was sitting on the bed next to her grinning happily, while Draco was standing hovering over the bed. Hermione could see that Draco had been crying recently and she noticed he wasn't quite as put together as he normally was, not to mention he was even paler than usual.

"Welcome back, sweetheart." Draco smiled widely at Hermione, before he turned around as the door opened.

Hermione tried to see who was at the door but she found she didn't have the energy to sit up and see properly. However her question was soon answered when a healer stepped into her line of vision. Hermione didn't recognise the healer, but Draco seemed to know him as they were talking together.

"It's nice to have you back with us, Mrs Malfoy," Healer Magnus said as Draco scooped Scorpius up into his arms to allow the healer access to his wife. "You gave us quite a fright."

"I don't understand," Hermione whispered, her voice hoarse from not using it for a while. "What's going on?"

"You had a fall and you've been unconscious," Healer Magnus explained.

"A fall." Hermione frowned momentarily, before she realised what was going on and tears filled her eyes.

She was finally remembering the last five years. Just when things were starting to look up for her and Draco, she was going to remember everything she'd forgotten. She was going to have to live through the pain of losing her baby and husband, before she woke up and could return to Draco.

"No," She whispered, shaking her head briefly before stopping when it hurt. "I want to go back. I don't want to remember."

Draco and Healer Magnus shared a puzzled look at Hermione's choice of wording. Draco had initially feared the worst when Hermione said she wanted to go back to her dream world, but the remembering part didn't make any sense. Placing Scorpius down on the chair, Draco turned back to his wife and cautiously approached the bed.

"Remember what?" Draco asked softly.

"This," Hermione sniffed as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "I don't want to remember the pain. I don't want to remember losing the baby and getting a divorce. I just want to sort things out and move on with our lives."

"It must have been the dream world," Healer Magnus said to a stunned Draco. "I'll send for Healer Denver, she'll be able to explain things better than me. Although she'll also want to examine Hermione and find out as much as possible about what happened to her."

Shaking his head to get his thoughts straight, Draco perched on the side of Hermione's bed and took her hand in his. "Let me get this straight. You think you've lost the baby and we're going to get a divorce."

Hermione nodded. "I didn't want to remember this Draco. I know it's selfish, but I was pleased that I couldn't remember such a painful part of our lives."

"It was all just a bad dream, Hermione," Draco said gently. "Just over two weeks ago you fell down the stairs. You've been unconscious ever since and your mind slipped into some sort of alternate reality."

Hermione blinked a few times as she tried to reconcile what Draco was telling her. That meant the last few months of experiences had all been in her head. She and Draco had never gotten divorced, and he'd never ended up with Astoria.

"The baby?" Hermione gasped, her hand falling to her stomach where she could feel her baby bump.

"She's perfectly fine," Draco answered with a smile. "It was touch and go for a while, but she's perfectly okay. The healers have been keeping a close eye on your pregnancy, and luckily everything is running smoothly."

"She," Hermione whispered in awe. "We're having a girl."

"Sorry for ruining the surprise," Healer Magnus chuckled. "Our tests were fairly extensive when you were first admitted and we discovered you were having a girl. I'm afraid I let slip to your husband, not realising you didn't know the sex of the baby."

"This is all so overwhelming," Hermione sighed, letting her eyes fall shut. Not long ago she'd been worried over Scorpius falling off his broom and reuniting with Draco, and now she discovered that none of it had ever happened and the whole thing had been a figment of her imagination.

"I'm sure you are a bit overwhelmed," Healer Magnus said kindly. "I'll just give you a quick check over, before leaving you to rest and to come to terms with being back to reality. I think Healer Denver's visit can wait until you've had more time to rest."

"Who's Healer Denver?" Hermione asked as Healer Magnus started to examine her.

"She specialises in brain injuries and rare magical sleep conditions," Healer Magnus answered. "She was the one who told us your mind was in an alternative reality. She'll be able to explain things more clearly when you see her later, it's not my area of expertise I'm afraid."

Ten minutes later, Healer Magnus announced he was happy with Hermione's progress. Ordering Hermione to rest and not to exert herself, the healer left the small family alone. After the last few weeks he thought the trio deserved some time alone to reconnect before the healer's began fussing over Hermione.

"How are you feeling?" Draco tentatively asked Hermione. Until he knew why Hermione had slipped into an alternate reality in her mind he couldn't help but worry that she was trying to escape from him, especially since she seemed to have dreamt they'd gotten divorced.

"Tired and confused," Hermione replied. "My body feels as though it's been lying here these past few weeks, but in my head I've been living another life for a couple of months. I think I just need to get things straight in my mind."

"Scorpius and I can leave you alone if you want," Draco said. "I've got plenty of people to inform that you're awake. No doubt you'll be inundated with visitors in the coming days."

"As long as it's not too soon. For now, all I want is to spend time with you two," Hermione said. "Could telling people wait? And could you stay with me?"

"Of course I can," Draco replied, smiling at his wife.

"And can I have a hug off my best little man?" Hermione asked, looking over to where Scorpius was sitting behaving like an angel.

In a flash Scorpius had clambered down off his chair and trotted over to Hermione's bed. Draco helped his son onto the bed and the two year old instantly threw himself at his mother.

"Careful of the baby," Draco reminded his son. "You don't want to hurt your sister, do you?"

"No." Scorpius shook his head and placed his hand over Hermione's small bump. "Sorry baby, go back to sleep," He said to the bump, before returning his attention back to his mother.

Hermione wrapped Scorpius in her arms, as the tears began to flow again. Only this time instead of tears of sadness, they were tears of joy. The nightmare she'd been living these past few months was over, she was back where she belonged and thankfully she still had her husband and baby.

"Don't cry, Mummy," Scorpius said, wiping at Hermione's tears with his little pudgy fingers.

"Sorry, I'm just happy to be awake." Hermione smiled at her son. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Mummy," Scorpius said, snuggling closer to his mother.

"I've missed you as well," Hermione said to Draco. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you. I love you Draco, never forget that."

"I love you too." Draco smiled at his wife as he slid onto the bed beside her and wrapped his arm around her and Scorpius. "These past few weeks have been torture."

"It sounds like we've got some stories to compare," Hermione remarked as she stifled a yawn.

"We have, but not just yet," Draco said. "For now, you should get some sleep."

"Don't leave me," Hermione said as she snuggled down with Scorpius and closed her eyes.

"Never," Draco whispered, dropping a kiss onto the top of his wife's head.

An emotional Draco held Hermione and Scorpius for nearly an hour, still hardly able to believe he'd gotten his wife back. Not wanting to disturb Hermione and Scorpius, who were both sleeping, Draco eventually managed to slide himself out from beside them and get off the bed. Slipping into the adjoining bathroom to his wife's private room, Draco cleaned himself up a bit. Returning from the bathroom he found Hermione's eyes were open, although she didn't look quite awake.

"Go back to sleep," He said quietly. "I'm just going to inform people you're awake. I'll not be gone long, and when I come back we can talk."

Hermione nodded and drifted back off to sleep, while Draco exited the room to spread the happy news that Hermione was awake and back with them.


	11. Chapter 11

After leaving Hermione to rest, Draco spent nearly an hour informing their friends and family that his wife was awake. Several people wanted to visit Hermione as soon as possible but Draco persuaded them to give Hermione some space. Until the healer's had performed a thorough examination, Draco didn't know how long Hermione would be in hospital and it may end up being easier for people to wait until she was discharged before visiting.

When he was talking to Harry and Ginny, Draco also asked the couple if they would mind having Scorpius for a few hours. He really didn't want to discuss what Hermione had been through in front of their son, but he expected a conversation would be happening soon. Luckily Harry and Ginny were more than happy to have Scorpius for a few hours and they told him to drop his son off whenever he was ready.

With everyone informed of Hermione's progress, Draco headed back to his wife's room. When he entered the room he found both Hermione and Scorpius were awake, and Scorpius was happily filling his mother in on what she'd been missing. Hermione smiled at Draco as he took a seat beside her bed, while Scorpius continued to talk animatedly.

"Does everyone know I'm awake?" Hermione asked Draco when Scorpius finally stopped talking.

"They do, and they all send their love," Draco replied. "I said we should wait until we know what's happening before they visit, so no-one will be disturbing us for the rest of the afternoon."

"That's good, I like the idea of spending a few hours with my boys," Hermione said, ruffling Scorpius's hair.

"Actually, I'm going to take Scorpius to Harry and Ginny's," Draco told his wife. "I figured he could play with James while we dealt with the Healers and had a proper talk about what's being going on."

"That's a good idea," Hermione agreed. As much as she would love to keep Scorpius with her, she didn't want to discuss her dream where her son was. The last thing she wanted was to make things any harder for him as she was guessing the last few weeks hadn't been great for her son.

Scorpius wasn't overly impressed to be leaving Hermione so soon after she'd woken up, but he eventually agreed to go with Draco when his father promised to bring him back later on. After giving Hermione a big kiss and hug, Scorpius settled himself in Draco's arms. Draco gave his wife a quick kiss and promised to be back soon, before leaving the room to drop Scorpius off with the Potters.

Draco was gone nearly ten minutes and when he returned Healers Magnus and Denver were just entering his wife's room. Healer Magnus made the introductions, before giving Hermione another quick check up. Healer Denver then ran a few tests on Hermione to confirm she'd emerged fully from her dream world and wasn't likely to slip back into it.

"Since so little is known about this condition, I was hoping you might be able to tell me about your experiences," Healer Denver said to Hermione. "If you're not feeling up to it, we could do it later. Or if you want to speak in private, we can arrange that as well."

"I don't mind telling you what I experienced, but Draco will be here the entire time," Hermione said, taking hold of her husband's hand and pulling him onto the bed so he was sitting beside her. "But before that, I would like to know what exactly happened to me. Why did I experience a different version of my life?"

"I'm afraid, it's not known what causes the condition," Healer Denver replied regretfully. "It's rare and there's only been a few recorded cases over the last ten years or so. The condition usually manifests itself after an accident involving a blow to the head. However, the blow to the head is never serious and in most cases the patient would wake up within an hour or so, but with the condition they don't and a different reality starts playing out in their head."

"But why me?" Hermione questioned. "What's so special about me? Will it happen again if I bang my head again?"

"There's never been a recording of anyone suffering from the condition twice," Healer Denver replied. "And as for why you, I'm afraid I can't answer that. There doesn't seem to be any connection between the people that develop the condition. I did some extra research while you were unconscious and found out some information about the last two people who reportedly suffered from the condition and woke up. As far as I can tell, there's nothing to link them together or link them to you. One was a young wizard in his late teens and the other was a witch in her mid-fifties. The boy was fit and healthy, while the woman had a few health issues. They were from different countries and from what I could see had absolutely nothing in common."

"You mentioned these two woke up, are there people suffering from this condition who haven't awoken?" Draco asked.

"It's hard to say for sure," Healer Denver admitted. "There's a few people around the world in comas and the information from the healers indicated they're suffering from the condition. However, because they haven't yet woken up we can't be sure."

"Why not?" Draco frowned. "When you diagnosed Hermione, you seemed confident she had the condition. Are you now saying you weren't positive of your diagnosis?"

"I was ninety nine percent sure," Healer Denver replied. "I haven't personally seen any of these other patients supposedly suffering from the condition, so I'm in no position to say if they've been diagnosed correctly."

"Okay, so why haven't these other people woken up?" Hermione asked. "Can't you do to them what you did to wake me?"

"We didn't wake you," Healer Magnus told the witch. "You did that yourself."

"The key to waking up is actually wanting to wake up and get on with your life," Healer Denver explained.

"That's ridiculous. That's all I wanted to do when I was in there. I used to fall asleep praying I would wake up back here," Hermione said. "I didn't want to be there, I wanted to be back where things were right."

"Did you know it was just a dream?" Healer Denver asked, making sure she enchanted a quill to make notes. With so little known about the sleep condition Hermione had been suffering from this could be her chance to really make her mark on the medical world if she could shed any new light on the condition.

"No, I thought it was real," Hermione replied. "I woke up in hospital, where I was informed I'd had an accident. I was told this fall I've just suffered had happened five years ago. I had no memory of the previous five years and I was diagnosed with amnesia."

"So if you didn't know it was dream, why did you keep wanting to be back here?" Healer Denver asked in confusion.

"Because these were the last solid memories I had, and my life was terrible," Hermione answered, speaking more to Draco than the Healer. "I woke up and discovered that I'd suffered a miscarriage from this fall. The miscarriage affected me badly and it destroyed my marriage. In the reality I was in, I was divorced, my husband was with someone else and we barely spoke. I wanted to return to this point, because it was from here on in that my life fell apart."

"You know that will never happen, don't you?" Draco said softly, holding on tight to Hermione's hand. "No matter what, you and I will work things out. We will never end up divorced."

"May I ask if these thoughts have occurred to you before your fall?" Healer Denver questioned, an idea starting to form in her head. "Have you been worrying about your marriage and losing the baby?"

"One of the last things I can remember thinking about was the baby," Hermione said, casting her mind back to the fall which seemed like months ago to her. "I was terrified I was going to lose her. As for our marriage, Draco and I have been fighting a lot lately, but I wouldn't say I was seriously worried. I was frustrated with the amount we'd been fighting, but I never thought it would end in us splitting up."

"I should hope not," Draco said. "We may have been fighting more than usual, but we never would have split up."

"The mind can play funny tricks when it's in a panic," Healer Denver said. "I would put forward the theory that Hermione lapsed into the alternate reality as her mind worried about losing the baby. The marriage problems probably got combined into the mix as they'd also been on her mind lately."

"So you think I drifted into this as I was worried it was going to become a reality?" Hermione asked, seeing where the healer was going with her theory.

"It's just my opinion," Healer Denver answered with a shrug.

"If that's the case, why did Hermione wake up?" Draco asked. "If she retreated into this alternate reality because she was scared of what might happen, what gave her the confidence to wake up?"

"You," Hermione whispered to her husband. "You were the reason I woke up. Just before I woke up, we talked and admitted we loved each other. I woke up because I had hope things were going to be alright. I knew it would be a long haul for us to fix things, but finally I had some hope."

"That makes sense to me." Healer Denver smiled as Hermione's reasoning seemingly supported her theory. "You were ready to deal with your real life, knowing there was hope if things went badly."

"Will this help other people who lapse into the condition?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, but I think this is a lot more than we've ever known about the condition before," Healer Denver replied. "Thank you for sharing what must have been a very painful topic for you. I'm sure you're still recovering from your ordeal, so I'll leave you to it. Maybe once you're out of hospital and feeling better we can arrange an appointment to try and go through things in greater detail."

"We can do that," Hermione confirmed as the healer stood up and left the room.

"I'll also leave you alone for the rest of the night," Healer Magnus said. "We can have another look at you tomorrow, but barring any problems I would think you should be able to go home tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you." Hermione smiled at the Healer as he departed, leaving her and Draco alone for the first time since she'd woken up.

Hermione waited for Draco to say something, but when he didn't she feared she might have hurt him with her confession of what she'd been dreaming about. She might have given him the impression that she didn't want to be with him, and nothing could be further from the truth.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked her husband in a quiet voice.

"Why would be I mad at you?" Draco asked his wife. "If anything I'm mad at myself for putting these doubts in your head. I've been a right git lately, and if we hadn't been arguing as much then this might not have happened. Everything is all my fault."

"It's not your fault Draco," Hermione said reassuringly. "I've never once doubted you or our relationship. I couldn't believe it when Ginny said we were divorced as I couldn't picture anything tearing us apart."

"What did tear us apart?" Draco asked. "You mentioned the miscarriage, did that play a part?"

"It was the catalyst for the whole thing," Hermione answered, her hand automatically moving to her bump where she caressed the growing baby she'd feared she'd lost. "I blamed you for the miscarriage, and we were fighting all the time. I pushed you away and made you think I didn't love you anymore. But I would never do that, Draco. Even if the worst had happened and I'd lost the baby, I never would have blamed you."

"And I would never let you go so easily," Draco vowed. "For us to be divorced in five years, I can't have fought very hard to keep you. I swear that if anything like that ever happened to us, I'll fight tooth and nail to hang onto out marriage. And even if I failed, I'd be there all the time trying to win you back."

"You weren't in my dream," Hermione admitted quietly. "You'd moved on. You were with Astoria."

"That would never happen," Draco insisted vehemently. "I've told you plenty of times that I'm not interested in Astoria. She might flirt, but she flirts with everyone, and I never encourage her."

"I know," Hermione said with a nod. "But we have been fighting about her recently, so she's probably just snuck into my subconscious as I was concocting the warped reality in my mind."

"Hermione, I love you," Draco told his wife. "You're the only witch I'm interested in."

"I love you too," Hermione replied. "I guess I'm just worried that if I wasn't around you would do what your father wants and get together with Astoria."

"Luckily for me, you are around," Draco replied. "Astoria isn't an issue, and I refuse to let her come between us again. Next time I see her I'm going to make it clear that she backs off and leaves me alone. To be honest I should have done it ages ago, but I never thought it was really an issue as I'm not interested in her and normally she doesn't bother you. And I'm also going to do the same with Father. He's interfered in our lives for the last time."

"What about work?" Hermione asked. "He hasn't exactly made things easy there."

"I've already told Father I'm cutting back my hours," Draco replied. "And if he can't learn to accept things, I'll leave the business altogether. I can set up on my own, or I might just stay at home and be a house husband. You can go to work and I can look after the kids."

"You wouldn't last a month," Hermione said with a laugh as she snuggled into her husband who wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"We can decide all that later," Draco said, dropping a kiss to the top of Hermione's head. "Right now, let's just enjoy being together again."

Hermione nodded and the couple lapsed into a contented silence, both of them happy to be reunited.


	12. Chapter 12

The second Hermione alighted from the fireplace at home, she finally felt at peace. Instead of arriving back to the very different house she'd felt as though she'd been living in for the past couple of months she arrived back to the house she loved and knew so well. Finally she was home.

After waking up the previous afternoon, Hermione had been discharged from hospital not long ago. Draco and Scorpius had been there as she was discharged and they were both with her as she arrived home after two weeks in hospital. Of course to Hermione it felt like much longer, but she was just grateful to be back home with her family intact.

"Okay, let's get you settled," Draco announced, magically sending Hermione's bag upstairs to the bedroom.

"You're going to fuss over me non-stop, aren't you?" Hermione complained, although she was smiling at how sweet Draco was being.

"Yes." Draco nodded in all seriousness. "I don't want you to have any more accidents. You have no idea how terrifying it was to come home and see you lying at the bottom of the stairs. For one awful minute, I thought I'd lost you."

"You didn't," Hermione said, taking hold of Draco's hand and giving it a squeeze. "I'm right here."

Draco smiled at his wife. "Yes, you are. And I'm going to make a fuss of you and ensure you rest."

Deciding it was easier not to argue with Draco, Hermione followed her husband into the front room. Entering the room she'd so lovingly decorated when they first bought the house brought a smile to Hermione's face. The room was so much nicer than the one in her dream reality, and she was pleased to see their wedding picture still had pride of place above the fireplace.

While Draco bustled about the place, making sure the room was tidy and they had plenty of refreshments ready for when people began to visit, Hermione settled herself in the corner of the large white sofa. Scorpius climbed up onto the sofa with his mother and the pair sat snuggled up together while Draco continued to fuss. Draco had spoken to people that morning and told them to hold off visiting until she was back home, that way they could spend as long as they wanted with Hermione.

"Draco, will you sit down and relax," Hermione said after ten minutes of her husband's fussing. "I know people will be coming to see me, but it's not as if we're expecting royalty or anything. It's just our friends popping over for a bit."

Just as Draco was about to obey his wife and settle down beside her and Scorpius the doorbell rang. Hermione was rather puzzled by the sound of the doorbell as she thought everyone would be arriving via the floo network. However Draco didn't seem in the slightest bit surprised by the method of arrival as he headed off to answer the front door. Hermione soon heard quiet voices in the hallway, but she had no idea who had arrived until the door to the front room opened and her parents entered.

"Mum, Dad," Hermione gasped in surprise at the sight of her parents. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in Australia?"

"We weren't going to stay in Australia while you were in hospital," Jean answered as she hugged her daughter and sat down next to her.

"Draco contacted us and arranged for us to come over," Richard explained, greeting his daughter and settling down next to his wife.

"I'm so happy to see you," Hermione said, hugging both her parents again. She really missed her parents, and even though with magical transportation it was relatively easy to keep in touch she found that she didn't see them half as much as she would like. "Where have you been staying?"

"We've been in a hotel," Jean answered. "Draco offered to let us stay here, but we didn't want to impose."

"Honestly, it wouldn't have been an imposition," Draco said, before he headed off to make some tea.

"I'm just thrilled you're here," Hermione said with a smile. "How long are you staying?"

"Actually, we're thinking about moving back home," Richard confessed.

For the next half hour or so the Grangers spoke about their plans to return to England. Richard and Jean admitted to Hermione that seeing her lying in hospital made them realise just how close they'd come to losing her. They also admitted that they wanted to get to know Scorpius better, and wanted to be there for their granddaughter. Over the last few weeks they'd noticed their grandson was happy to go off with Harry and Ginny, the other Weasleys and Narcissa, but he was wary of them since he didn't know him that well. Hermione didn't care what the reasons were behind her parent's decision to return home, she was just thrilled that she would have her parents nearby once again.

Just as Hermione's parents were getting ready to leave with a promise to be back the following day, the floo network sounded and the first of the Weasleys descended on the Malfoys. Unsurprisingly the first people to arrive were Harry, Ginny and their two kids. Ron was also with them and the trio all gave Hermione a warm hug and expressed how thrilled they were to have her back with them.

After Draco had seen the Grangers out, he'd made more tea. Settling Scorpius and James down on the floor to play beside a sleeping Lily in her carrycot, the adults settled down to talk and have a catch up.

"So what was your dream world like?" Ron asked once they were sure Hermione was okay and that she and the baby were doing well.

"Hermione might not want to talk about it," Ginny hissed at her brother. Even though she didn't know details of Hermione's dream, the previous day Draco had implied it hadn't been all that pleasant for his wife.

"It's okay," Hermione said to Ginny. While she didn't plan on talking about her experiences with everyone, she was with her best friends and she trusted them to know the whole truth. "When I woke in the dream world, five years had passed. I didn't have any memories of those five years, and I genuinely thought I was suffering from amnesia."

"Wow, what's the world like in five years?" Ron asked eagerly.

"It wasn't real Ron," Hermione pointed out gently. Ron immediately flushed bright red at his mistake, causing everyone to chuckle at him.

"What was your world like?" Ginny asked. "Had much changed?"

"A lot," Hermione answered with a sigh. Reaching over to Draco, she took hold of his hand before she continued. "In the other world, I'd lost the baby when I fell. That led to problems between Draco and myself, and we'd ended up divorced."

"Bloody hell, as if that would ever happen," Ron stated with a snort. Draco may not have initially been his ideal choice of partner for his best friend, but there was no denying the blond wizard loved Hermione more than anything and Ron didn't think there was anyone who would love and cherish Hermione more than her husband did.

"In my world it did," Hermione said sadly. "I spent two months trying to deal with this new life without Draco in. Not that I was satisfied with accepting the way things were, I was determined to get him back and in the end I started to make progress in the right direction."

"Good for you, fighting for what you want," Ginny grinned at Hermione. "Now in this dream world, what was I like? I wasn't horrible, was I?"

"Of course not, you were still my best friend," Hermione reassured the redheaded witch. "You supported me the entire time."

Ginny nodded in satisfaction as the floo network sounded again, signalling the arrival of more visitors. Without having to be told that Hermione didn't want anyone else to know the details of her dream world, her friends expertly changed the subject before anyone entered the room. By the time Molly and Arthur made their way into the front room, the topic of Hermione's dream world had well and truly been passed over.

For the rest of the afternoon a steady stream of Weasleys dropped by the house. Some like Percy only stayed a few minutes, but others stayed for significantly longer. Harry and Ginny stayed almost all afternoon, although Ron did have to go to work after a couple of hours with Hermione. George and his wife Angelina also stayed for several hours, but part of that was because their son, little Fred, was great friends with Scorpius and once the two toddlers got together it was practically impossible to separate them.

As well as Weasleys, Hermione had other visitors as well. Blaise and Luna popped by and stayed a good hour, while Neville and a few of her other friends from school also dropped by to let her know how pleased they were to have her home. Even a few of Draco's friends called in and expressed their pleasure that Hermione was okay.

By early evening, Hermione was starting to tire so Draco gently started easing the well-wishers off home. Once the family had the house to themselves, Draco told Hermione to rest while he got Scorpius ready for bed. After a fun afternoon playing with James and little Fred, Scorpius was more than ready to go bed and he didn't make a fuss when Draco took him upstairs, gave him a quick bath and tucked him into bed.

When Draco returned downstairs, he found Hermione dozing on the sofa. Sitting down next to his wife, he gently ran his fingers through her curls. He still couldn't believe that Hermione had woken up and was back home with him and Scorpius. Despite his insistence that Hermione would wake up, there was a part of Draco that thought she wasn't going to. A part of him genuinely thought he'd lost his wife. However, now he had her back he was determined not to take her for granted again. He was going to make sure she knew just how much she meant to him, and he would never again put anyone or anything above his family.

"Maybe it's time you went to bed," Draco whispered to his wife as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed with you next to me," Hermione admitted as she stood up. "Are you coming up?"

"Yeah." Draco nodded. "I haven't been sleeping well, but something tells me I'll sleep tonight."

The couple had barely reached the bottom of the stairs when they heard the floo network sound yet again. Puzzled as to who would be arriving so much later than everyone else, Hermione and Draco turned towards the floo room in time to see Narcissa and Lucius exiting the room.

"We're not disturbing anything, are we?" Narcissa asked when she saw where the couple were standing.

"We were going to bed, it's been a long couple of weeks for us both," Draco replied.

"We can go and come back in the morning," Narcissa said.

"There's no need to leave," Hermione told her mother-in-law. "Now you're here, the pair of you should stay and have a cup of tea."

"Only if you're sure," Narcissa said hesitantly. "After all you've been through we don't want to disturb your rest."

"I'm sure." Hermione smiled at Narcissa before she led the way into the front room.

Draco quickly headed into the kitchen to make yet another pot of tea, before joining his wife and parents in the front room. When he entered the room he found Hermione and Narcissa sitting talking, while Lucius was standing in front of the fireplace looking at the large wedding picture that had pride of place on the wall. Handing Hermione and Narcissa their tea, Draco walked over to where his father was standing and handed him his drink.

"It's a good picture, isn't it?" Draco remarked. The picture was a candid shot of him and Hermione smiling at each other and it was very obvious how happy they both were.

"It is," Lucius replied much to Draco's surprise. "You both look very happy."

"We were," Draco said. "And we still are very happy together."

"I know," Lucius said quietly. "These last few weeks have made me realise just how much you love Hermione, and how much you need her in your life. Seeing you so broken up has brought me to my senses."

"And when did you see me broken up?" Draco asked his father. "Apart from that time you visited on the first Monday, you haven't been back to the hospital."

"Actually I went back twice," Lucius admitted. "Both times you were pretty upset, and to be honest I didn't know what to say to you."

"And do you know what to say now?" Draco questioned.

"I do." Lucius turned to look at his son and took a deep breath before continuing. "I want to say, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried to interfere with your life, and I won't be doing so in future."

"Are you seriously telling me, you're finally going to accept Hermione as my wife?" Draco checked.

"Yes." Lucius nodded. "I doubt we're ever going to be close, but I accept things the way they are. I won't push Astoria on you anymore, and I'll stop causing problems at work."

"I knew you were being difficult at work." Draco glared at his father.

"Draco, that isn't the point," Hermione told her husband. She'd been listening to the whole conversation and she didn't want Draco to reject Lucius's apology because he was mad at his father's past actions. "Your father wants to make amends and start over. Why don't we all forget the past and try to move on."

"I suppose we can try," Draco conceded. "But I will not tolerate you starting this behaviour again," He warned his father. "If you try to interfere in my marriage again, I'm walking away."

"There'll be no interfering from me," Lucius vowed.

"Thank you." Draco smiled at his father.

Draco was still going to wait and see if Lucius could keep his promise to behave and not interfere, but for the first time his father at least seemed prepared to make an effort with Hermione. Draco just hoped his father's change of heart was a sign of things to come and life would calm down and get back to normal. After the few weeks they'd had, it would be great if they could leave behind all the stress and concentrate on being a family.


	13. Chapter 13

Entering the bedroom, Draco was surprised to find Hermione sitting in bed making notes in a notebook. It had been almost a week since Hermione had come home from the hospital and in that time she'd made no attempt to even begin looking at her work, which was why he was so shocked to find her in bed writing away. Draco was rather pleased that his wife hadn't tried to go back to work quickly as it meant he didn't have to nag at her.

"What are you doing?" Draco questioned as he began to get ready for bed.

"Planning," Hermione answered, not looking up from her notebook.

"Planning what?"

"Scorpius's birthday party. He's three in just over a week's time and we haven't organised anything yet."

Draco paused in the middle of getting undressed and turned to face his wife. "Do we really need to throw him a party?" He asked. "After everything that's happened, you really shouldn't be stressing over this."

"It's because of everything that's happened that I want to throw the party," Hermione replied, finally looking up at her concerned husband. "I imagine these last few weeks have been hard on Scorpius. It's time he got a bit of attention and everyone focused on him for a change. Besides, this will be his last birthday on his own. From next year we'll have the baby, and even on Scorpius's birthday she'll get attention. I just want the day to be special for Scorp."

Draco nodded, understanding what his wife meant when she said things would change after they'd had a second child. "Fine, we'll have a party. But you're not to organise it. Leave it all in my hands."

"You're going to organise a three year olds birthday party." Hermione looked at her husband incredulously. "Would you even know where to begin?"

"How hard can it be?" Draco shrugged as he pulled off the remainder of his clothes and headed into the bathroom.

When he returned from the bathroom, Draco slipped into bed beside Hermione and took her notebook from her. Looking at the list of things to organise, Draco's eyes widened in horror. Who knew organising a party for a toddler would be so complicated?

"If you can't manage it, I can cope perfectly fine," Hermione offered, chuckling at the look of bewilderment on her husband's face.

"I can cope just fine," Draco insisted. Placing Hermione's notebook on his bedside table, he then refocused his attention on his wife. "I just don't want you to push yourself. Just relax and I promise Scorpius will have a birthday to remember."

"You're going to have stop fussing over me sooner or later," Hermione told her husband. "I know what happened was scary, but we can't let it define our lives."

"I know," Draco sighed in agreement. He knew he was being overprotective of Hermione, but he just couldn't help himself. He'd almost lost his wife, and he was grateful to have a second chance to make sure things were as good as they could possibly be between them. "Although maybe you should follow your own advice."

"What do you mean?" Hermione questioned.

"You're still affected by the incident as well," Draco pointed out gently. "Don't think I haven't noticed how often you wake up in the night to check I'm still here. And I've seen the look of happiness on your face when you wake up and realise you're still here, not back there."

Hermione had to admit that Draco was right, she was still affected by everything that had happened. Even though she'd come to terms with the fact her experiences had been a dream, part of her still worried that one time she would wake up and be back in her dream world. That was why every time she woke up she was relieved to find everything was at it should be and she still had her family intact.

"I guess it's going to take time for both of us to return to normal," Hermione conceded.

"I guess it is," Draco agreed, smiling at his wife. "But we'll do it together."

Hermione smiled back at Draco as she leant forward and pressed her lips against his. "I know something else we can do together," She whispered seductively in his ear. "Are you up for it?"

"Are you sure?" Draco checked, not wanting to rush his wife into restarting the physical side of their relationship.

"I'm sure," Hermione confirmed, wrapping her arms around Draco's neck and pulling him even closer to her.

Never one to disappoint his wife, Draco spent the next hour and a half lavishing attention on Hermione. After a couple of rounds of sensual love making the couple fell asleep, their naked limbs entangled together.

*****

The following day, Draco was sitting in his study trying to sort out Scorpius's birthday party. Looking at Hermione's list, he couldn't help but wonder why a three year old needed so much. He wasn't sure why they couldn't just get all their friends and family to come over and give Scorpius a cake and his presents. But on Hermione's list there were whole sections dedicated to food, decorations and even entertainment.

Totally struggling as to where to begin, Draco was relieved when there was a knock on the door. Fully expecting to find his wife, Draco turned round and got a surprise when Ginny's red head poked around the door.

"Hi, can I come in?" Ginny asked, not wanting to just enter Draco's private study.

"Feel free," Draco said to his wife's friend. "What can I do for you, Ginny?"

"Actually, I've came to offer my services to you," Ginny said as she stepped into Draco's study. "Hermione mentioned you were organising Scorpius's birthday party, and I thought you might need a hand."

"That would be amazing." Draco smiled in relief at the offer of help. "I honestly have no idea where to start. I've got a list Hermione made, but I don't know if we need everything on the list or if they were just options and ideas."

"Let me have a look," Ginny chuckled, holding out her hand for the list. Once Draco handed her the list, she scanned over it and mentally started organising things in her head. "Okay, for a start don't worry about the food. I'll have to check with people, but I'm sure we can all band together and all provide something to make a delicious spread. As for the cake, I'm sure Mum can make us a lovely one. She always used to make the most amazing birthday cakes when we were younger. And as for decorations and entertainment, I'm sure we can organise something between us if we put our heads together."

"Thank you, you're a lifesaver," Draco said to the redheaded witch.

"Anytime," Ginny replied with a wide grin. "I'll speak to the family and we can organise the food. I'll also gather together a few ideas for entertainment and decorations and we can meet up in the next few days to discuss things. I'm sure between us we can handle everything and Hermione won't have to worry about a thing."

"That was the idea," Draco replied. "I don't want her stressing over a kids party. You know Hermione, she would have stressed over making sure everything was perfect."

"It will be, even without Hermione's perfectionist tendencies," Ginny said reassuringly, before she exited Draco's study with plans to meet up later on.

Feeling very grateful for Ginny's assistance in organising the party, Draco tidied his desk up and left his study. Now he had help with the party he could spend some time with his wife and son. After all he and Hermione still had to discuss what to get Scorpius for his birthday. Draco was leaning towards a training broom, but he knew that he would have his work cut out persuading his wife that it was something their son should have, especially given that in her dream world, Hermione had dreamt about Scorpius falling off his broom and hurting himself. Preparing arguments in his head for why they should buy Scorpius a training broom, Draco headed off to find his wife and son.

*****

On the day of Scorpius's birthday, Draco ushered his wife and son out of the house after they'd had lunch. Telling Hermione not to return for a few hours, he darted back inside to oversee the arrangements for the party. Scorpius had no idea why they weren't at home, he just assumed he was going for a walk with his mother. Hermione however knew Draco was organising a party, and she knew her husband wanted the party to be a surprise for their son, and to a certain extent her as well. While Hermione knew Draco was organising something and that all their friends and family were going to be there, she had no idea what exactly her husband had in store.

Hermione took Scorpius down into the nearby village and after having a wander around the few shops, she took her son to a nearby park. Making sure to keep the adventurous three year old away from the apparatuses designed for older children, Hermione settled down to watch Scorpius enjoy himself. Finally she figured it would be safe to return home so she gathered Scorpius and the pair walked back home.

"Daddy. Daddy," Scorpius cried out excitedly as they entered the house. As usual when he'd been out with just one of his parents he was eager to tell the other one what he'd been up to.

"Come on, Scorp." Hermione took hold of her son's hand and led him towards the kitchen. "Let's go and find your Daddy."

A glimpse through the kitchen window was enough to confirm Hermione's suspicions that her husband was outside. Opening the back door she let Scorpius run outside, but the three year old stopped in his tracks when he found the back garden crowded with friends and family. Following her son outside, Hermione took in the scene in her garden. There was a massive table set up near the back door holding food, drink and a lovely looking birthday cake. Beside it was a table stacked full of brightly coloured presents, and there were tables and chairs dotted around the top half of the garden. However, the bottom half of the garden was a children's paradise with a large bouncy castle being the main attraction. There was also slides, swings, sandpits and many more activities that would appeal to the kids.

"Happy Birthday Scorpius!" Everyone cried in unison as Draco lifted his son into his arms.

"Do you want to go and play on the bouncy castle?" Draco asked his son. Scorpius's little grey eyes were flitting all over the garden, unsure of what to take in first.

"Yeah." Scorpius grinned excitedly.

"Are you coming?" Draco asked Hermione.

Nodding her head, Hermione followed her husband and son down to the bottom of the garden. With Scorpius's arrival the fun had really began and all the other kids were beginning to choose what to play with. When they reached the bouncy castle, Hermione discovered it was split into two areas. One area was just for bouncing, whereas the second area was filled with balls so the kids could play with the balls.

"Wow, this is all amazing," Hermione said to Draco as her husband pulled Scorpius shoes off and settled him in the ball-pool part of the bouncy castle.

"I had a lot of help," Draco admitted as the couple stepped back and watched Scorpius playing in the balls. "Ginny was amazing, she helped with the entertainment and everything. Molly made the cake, and everyone else contributed with the food. Everyone wanted to pitch in and ensure that Scorpius had a brilliant party."

"I think it's worked," Hermione said with a small chuckle. "I think Scorpius will have a brilliant time."

"And what about you?" Draco asked, wrapping his wife in his arms. "Will you have a good time this afternoon?"

"I'll have a great time," Hermione answered, smiling at her husband. "It'll be nice to enjoy the afternoon without having all the stress of making sure everything runs smoothly."

"That's my job today, and I won't let you down," Draco reassured his wife. "This afternoon is going to run smoothly."

Draco was true to his word and the afternoon passed smoothly, with plenty of fun and laughter. The children thoroughly enjoyed playing on the bouncy castle and other toys, while the adults enjoyed watching the kids and chatting to each other. Then of course there was all the lovely food to eat and Scorpius opened his huge pile of presents, which did include a training broom from his parents.

Hermione was pleased to find that even her parents, who didn't know people all that well, joined in the fun as did Lucius. Her father-in-law was like a completely different person since her accident and Hermione was pleased that he finally seemed to accept that she wasn't going anywhere.

By the end of the afternoon Hermione was exhausted, but happy. The day had been such a brilliant one and she was confident they'd given their son a memorable birthday. With Scorpius's party now over, they could turn their focus on their upcoming arrival. In just over four months, Hermione would give birth and they would have a second child to add to the family. In that time Hermione was determined to cast aside all thoughts of her distorted dream world. By the time her daughter was born, these last few weeks would be nothing more than a distant memory.


	14. Epilogue.

In the waiting room at St Mungo's, three year old Scorpius sat on one of the chairs swinging his legs and sneaking looks towards the door. Scorpius was accompanied by both sets of grandparents, although the adults seemed oblivious to the young boy's boredom. Richard and Lucius were both reading, while Narcissa and Jean were talking quietly together.

"Is she here yet?" Scorpius whined.

"Not yet, sweetheart," Narcissa told her grandson with a smile. "She'll be here soon."

"But it's been ages," Scorpius complained. "I'm bored."

"Why don't you play with your toys," Jean suggested, indicating the abandoned toys that her grandson had left on the table earlier.

"I've played with them," Scorpius pouted. "And I've read all my books. I want my sister."

"You have to be patient, Scorpius," Lucius said gently. "She'll be here when she's ready."

"But Daddy said she was coming ages ago," Scorpius argued, rolling his eyes dramatically.

Scorpius of course was completely right, it had been several hours ago when Hermione had gone into labour and Draco had told his son his little sister was on the way. In fact the family had been sitting around the hospital almost all day, and there was still no sign of the newest Malfoy making her appearance.

"Sometimes it takes a long time for babies to arrive," Narcissa answered. "It took you several hours to be born."

"Can't we use magic?" Scorpius asked. "Why doesn't Daddy just use magic to get her out of Mummy's tummy?"

"That's a very complicated answer," Narcissa said to her grandson. "You'll understand more when you're bigger. But for now we just have to wait."

"Waiting's boring," Scorpius huffed as he went back to swinging his legs and sighing dramatically to highlight his boredom.

Luckily for Scorpius, his waiting was soon over as an excited Draco suddenly bounded into the room.

"It's a girl," Draco announced with a grin.

"We were expecting that," Lucius remarked with a raised eyebrow and a low chuckle.

"She's gorgeous," Draco continued, ignoring his father's laughter. "And she's waiting to meet her grandparents and big brother."

Scorpius jumped off his chair and picked up a small bag that had been sitting beside him. Reaching inside the bag he pulled out a purple unicorn stuffed toy. Draco and Scorpius had seen the toy a few weeks ago when they'd been shopping and Scorpius had been adamant they needed to get it for the baby. Draco had been more than happy to indulge his son and when he'd bought the toy he'd given it to Scorpius so he could give it to his sister as a present from him.

"Do you want us to wait while you take Scorpius to see the baby?" Narcissa asked as Scorpius eagerly grabbed hold of Draco's hand.

"It's alright, you can all come and see the baby," Draco replied.

Draco led the way out of the waiting room and down the corridor to where Hermione was ensconced in a private room. Opening the door, he immediately let go of Scorpius who went racing to his mother's bedside. Hermione was sitting up in bed, cradling a tiny bundle wrapped in a lilac blanket. Despite the fact she'd just given birth, she was radiating happiness and looked perfectly at ease with having so many people visiting at once.

"Is that her?" Scorpius questioned, standing on his tiptoes to try and get a look at the baby in his mother's arms.

"Yes, this is your sister," Hermione answered as Draco lifted Scorpius up onto the bed beside her.

Scorpius shuffled towards Hermione, until he was sitting right beside her. He then turned his attention to the bundle in his mother's arms. The baby wasn't asleep and as Scorpius looked at her, she blinked her tiny eyes at him.

"I think she likes you," Hermione said to Scorpius as her son looked at his baby sister in awe. "Do you like her?"

"She's tiny," Scorpius whispered. "Was I that little?"

"You were," Draco answered from beside the bed. "You were once a tiny baby like your sister."

"But I didn't have a big brother with presents," Scorpius said as he held the unicorn up for the baby to see. "This is from me," He told the baby. "I'm Scorpius, and I'm your brother."

"That's a lovely thought, Scorp." Hermione smiled at her son as he nestled the soft toy beside his sister. "You're already a brilliant big brother."

Scorpius smiled happily as he settled himself down beside Hermione. Once Scorpius was settled, Draco and Hermione's parents stepped forward to meet their granddaughter. They all looked at her in Hermione's arms, before the baby was gently passed around everyone before ending up in Draco's arms.

"Have you thought of any names?" Narcissa asked. She knew with Scorpius the couple had kept to her family's tradition of naming Scorpius after a constellation, but she wasn't sure if they would continue that with their daughter.

"We have," Hermione confirmed. "We're going to call her Maia. It's a star in the constellation Taurus, but it also has a Greek mythological connection like my name. Maia was one of Zeus's many lovers, and she gave birth to his son, Hermes."

"I like that," Richard said, smiling at his daughter. "Maia's a lovely name."

"It is," Narcissa agreed. "Maia Malfoy has a nice sound to it."

"We thought so," Draco said, looking down at his daughter who was beginning to drift off to sleep.

While Maia dozed in her father's arms, the grandparents stayed for a while before leaving so that other people could come and visit the happy family. Over the course of the next few hours several friends visited to meet the newest addition to the Malfoy family. Finally the visits were over for the night and Draco and Hermione were left alone with their two children. By this time Scorpius was also curled up fast asleep beside Hermione.

"It's been a long day. I'm knackered," Draco remarked as he collapsed into the seat next to Hermione's bed. Normally she would have been discharged, but considering her accident earlier in her pregnancy the Healers had wanted Hermione and Maia to stay in St Mungo's overnight as a precaution.

"You're knackered, what about me?" Hermione questioned. "I was the one who gave birth to your daughter. From where I'm sitting, I did all the hard work."

"I helped," Draco protested. "I was with you the entire time. I didn't even complain when you swore at me and told me I wasn't having sex again."

"I still mean that," Hermione told her husband with a mischievous smirk. "No more sex for you, I'm not going through that pain again."

"You said that after Scorpius," Draco replied with a smirk. "Wait and see, in a few months you'll not be able to resist me."

"Cocky bugger," Hermione said with a laugh.

"It's part of my charm," Draco said, sitting forward so he was inches away from Hermione. "And you love it."

"I tolerate you arrogant ways, because buried deep inside is a sweet man," Hermione retorted. "It's worth a bit of cockiness if I get the man who loves me unconditionally and will do anything for me."

"You've always got him," Draco told his wife. "I will always love you unconditionally, and I will always do anything for you. You're my whole world Hermione, you and the kids mean everything to me."

"And you mean everything to me," Hermione replied seriously. "I never want to lose you Draco. You, Scorpius and Maia are my life, and I never want to lose that."

"You won't," Draco vowed, leaning over and pressing his lips against Hermione's.

As they kissed they both thought about the past few months and how close they'd come to losing each other. Luckily Hermione had found her way back home and now the Malfoys were back together as they should be and happier than ever.

The End.


End file.
